The government has begun talks with Russia about importing fuel, Fisheries Minister Douglas Devananda said.
The minister at a meeting with the members of the Western and North-Western Provinces’ Joint Fishermen’s Union at the Fisheries Ministry on Tuesday had told them that the government has pursued obtaining fuel, including crude oil from Russia.
Meanwhile, government talks are underway to obtain fuel through Indian credit assistance, according to Minister Devananda.
The Cabinet will prioritise providing subsidies to fishermen who have been out of work for two and a half months; he said and added that the Cabinet's attention will be directed to providing a debt relief term to the fishermen.
The Ministry sources told the Daily News that Minister Devananda had apprised Joint Fishermen’s Union members that the government had taken steps to place an order to import 10,000 metric tonnes of kerosene from Singapore as a measure to quickly address the fishermen’s current kerosene issue. The meeting was attended by around 40 members of the Joint Fishermen’s Union, including its office bearers.
When the fishermen's union notified Minister Devananda that they had been unable to go to sea for the previous one and a half months due to a lack of kerosene and diesel to start their boats, he said that steps are being taken to resolve the fuel issues impacting them within a week.
The fishermen's union here expressed satisfaction with the appointment of Ranil Wickremesinghe as President and the reappointment of Devananda as Fisheries Minister.
Furthermore, they expressed hope that the new government will fulfill their expectations.
Minister Devananda stated that the Cabinet was considering providing a subsidy to fishermen who have been out of work for the previous two and a half months.
He also said that the Cabinet's attention will be called to providing a loan relief period to fishermen who are in debt to banks as a result of the circumstance.
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