West Bengal to introduce accidental death insurance policy for fishermen soon

In a bid to prepare a database of all fishermen and those associated with the fishing industry, the state government is planning to start registration from November 1

The West Bengal government will soon introduce accidental death insurance policy for lakhs of fishermen and those who are associated with the boat making and fishery industry.

The nearest kin of the fishermen will get an amount of up to ₹5 lakh as insurance benefit. (File image)

In a bid to prepare a database of all fishermen and those associated with the fishing industry, the state government is planning to start registration from November 1 when the Duare Sarkar camp (government at doorstep) begins.

A senior officer of Murshidabad district administration said, “Fishermen, people associated with stitching fishing nets, those manufacturing boats and trawlers will be eligible”

Data placed in Lok Sabha on April 5, 2022 reveals the Centre received at least 2,204 insurance claims for accidental deaths and disabilities under the Centre’s Blue Revolution Scheme and Pradhan Mantri Matsya Sampada Yojana.

Even though the maximum had come from Tamil Nadu (585) followed by Telengana (524) and Odisha (250), there was no data available in the list from West Bengal.

“In August last year, I wrote a letter to the fisheries minister of our state, appealing him to start a project for the fishermen like ‘Krishak Bandhu’ to provide them different insurance benefits. So far, there is no government insurance benefit scheme for the fishermen if they die in any accident while catching fish,” said Monirul Islam, TMC MLA from Farakka.

Earlier, the state government had launched “Krishak Bandhu” scheme to provide financial assistance to farmers for agricultural purposes and to provide social security to their families in the event of untimely death of the farmers.

A senior officer said there will be dedicated counters for the registration of the fishermen in the upcoming Duare Sarkar camp.

“The fishermen will have to submit some documents obtained from the panchayat to prove that he is a fisherman or associated with fishing industry. At present, there is no government accidental death insurance scheme for the fishermen. After the implementation of the scheme, the nearest kin of the fishermen will get an amount of up to ₹5 lakh as insurance benefit,” said a senior official.