Cyclone Tauktae: Gujarat announces Rs 105 crore relief package for fisherfolk

Ahmedabad: The Gujarat government has announced a relief package of Rs 105 crore for fishermen affected by cyclone Tauktae which caused severe damage in the state’s coastal belt last month, officials said on Wednesday. Chief Minister Vijay Rupani took the decision about the relief package after reviewing the situation during a meeting on Tuesday evening, an official release said. Cyclone Tauktae hit the Gujarat coast on 17 May night with a very high wind speed of about 220 kmph. It caused major damage to anchored boats, fishing nets, trawlers and marine infrastructure at Jafrabad, Rajula, Saiyad Rajpara, Shiyal Bet and Nava Bandar ports of the state, the release said, adding that houses of fishermen were also damaged in the cyclone. As part of the package, the state government would pay a collective amount of Rs 25 crore to the affected fishermen to compensate the damage caused to over 1,000 small and large sized boats. For a fully damaged small sized boat, the government would pay 50 percent of the boat value or Rs 75,000, whichever is less, the release said. In case of a partially damaged small sized boat, the compensation would be 50 per cent of the boat value or Rs 35,000, whichever is less, it said. For a fully damaged trawler, the compensation would be Rs 5 lakh or 50 percent of the trawler’s value, it added. The state government will give Rs 2,000 through direct benefit transfer to all those fishermen whose boats were fully or partially damaged in the cyclone. On a loan of Rs 10 lakh to repair a fully damaged boat, the state government would bear 10 per cent of the interest for a period of two years, said the release. Under the package, the state government has also planned to restore the marine infrastructure which was damaged in the cyclone. In Jafrabad, the existing jetty would be extended up to 500 metres, and the high mast electricity towers at the jetty will also be repaired, the release said. Similar restoration work will be carried out in the coastal towns of Nava Bandar and Saiyad Rajpara, and Shiyal Bet island. In all, the state government would spend Rs 80 crore for restoring and strengthening the marine infrastructure, the release said.