Daijiworld Media Network - Mangaluru (SP) 

Mangaluru, Jul 30: At a meeting held on Monday July 29, Karnataka chief minister, B S Yediyurappa, took a decision to waive pending loans of fishing community. 

The department of fisheries has implemented a scheme under which commercial banks and regional rural banks grant loans to fishermen including women for undertaking fishing activities like fish vending, purchase of equipment, capital for fish business, conservation and transportation of fish and other fishing-related activities. These loans attract two percent per annum rate of interest. 

A total of Rs 60.584 crore availed by 23.507 fishermen from the three coastal districts during 2017-18 and 2018-19 was outstanding. As the outstanding liability of Rs 60.584 has been waived by the government, these fishermen would be relieved of their financial problems, would be able to achieve improvement in their standard of living and get opportunity to lead a better quality life in the society. 

BJP legislators from Dakshina Kannada, Udupi, and Uttara Kannada districts led by Udupi MLA, Raghupati Bhat, had met chief minister, Yediyurappa, and handed over a memorandum seeking to waive fishing loans. Chief minister, Yediyurappa, who held consultations with the secretary of fisheries department and other officials, signed the order waiving their loans, said Mangaluru city south MLA, D Vedavyas Kamath, in a press release.