Odisha Sun Times Bureau
Bhubaneswar, Dec 22:

Fishermen in Odisha will now get diesel at discounted rate for operating their fishing trawlers.

fishfed_iocl-mou

A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) in this regard was inked between Odisha State Fishermen Co-Operative Federation (Fishfed) and Indian Oil Corporation Ltd (IOCL) in the presence of state Agriculture Minister Pradip Maharathy here today.

According to the MoU, fishermen will get diesel at a rebate of 50 paise per litre. It has been decided to open depots at 13 fishing jetties for selling diesel.

Depots for sale of diesel to fishermen will be opened at Chandrabhaga, Astaranga, Balugaon, Bahabalapur, Kharinasi, Chudamani, Palur, Bhusundapur, Sonepur, Nathiri, Sorana, Panchubisa and Talachua, official sources said.

The move is expected to benefit about 70,000 fishermen, the sources added.

“Earlier fishermen used to buy diesel from unauthorized sellers at inflated prices and operate their fishing trawlers. Now that’s over. Now IOCL and Fishfed have inked a MoU to supply diesel to fishermen at a discounted price,” said Agriculture Minister Pradip Maharathy to reporters after the signing of the MoU.