Date:21/09/2006 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2006/09/21/stories/2006092121640300.htm

Kerala - Thiruvananthapuram

Scheme to provide homes for fisher folk on the anvil

Special Correspondent

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The Government would soon come up with a scheme to provide permanent homes for fisher folk who lose homes every year due to sea erosion, Revenue Minister K.P. Rajendran told the Assembly on Wednesday.

Replying to a submission by V. Surendran Pillai (KC-J), the Minister said the proposal was to purchase land at Government expenditure and build permanent houses with the support of voluntary organisations. The Monsoon rains had so far resulted in total destruction of 67 houses, damage to 1,795 houses and destruction of fishing gear worth Rs.10 lakhs. He said the Government found that sea erosion was a regular phenomenon in coastal stretches such as Poonthura, Nayarambalam and Edavilangu and there was need to find a permanent solution to the problem.

Assistance

The Government would soon submit to the Centre a scheme to provide assistance to all Mahila Swasth Sangh (MSS) volunteers in the State, Health Minister P.K. Sreemathy told K.K. Shylaja (CPI-M).

She told G. Karthikeyan (Congress) that the Government had asked the Director of Health Services to probe the circumstances that led to the death of a Scheduled Tribe woman, Bindu, after being allegedly denied medical care for delivery at the Nedumangad taluk hospital.

Education Minister M. A. Baby told Abdul Rahiman Randathani (ML) that the Government would soon take steps to revamp the Sarva Siksha Abhiyan (SSA).

Finance Minister T. M. Thomas Isaac told Joseph M. Puthussery (KC-M) that the Government would see how the difficulties reportedly being experienced by cable TV operators following imposition of luxury tax on them could be mitigated. A decision on the issue would be announced after conclusion of the discussion on the Finance Bill, he added.