Odisha govt signs agreement with IKSL to help fishermen

Odisha government today joined hands with IFFCO Kissan Sanchar Limited (IKSL) in a bid to provide quick and timely information on weather, potential fishing zones (PFZ), fish conservation and cultivation to the fishermen.
An agreement to launch the new scheme called "Empowering Fishermen through Mobile Advisory Services and Establishment of Toll Free Call Centre for Fisheries Extension Service" was signed in the presence of Odisha Fisheries minister Debi Prasad Mishra.
About one lakh fishermen, out of a total of 12 lakhs fishermen in both coastal and interior areas in the state, would be provided SIM Cards in a phased manner to receive 4-5 free voice messages in Odia daily, said an official of the Fisheries department.

The total cost of the scheme, including implementation charges, has been pegged at Rs 3.48 crore for the 2013-14 financial year, they said.
IKSL, the partner agency, will recharge the SIM regularly. The fishermen are not required to pay any additional cost towards the services offered by the agency.
However, they have to pay for their normal communication needs exceeding the proposed amount of talk time for their personal use as per prevailing tariffs of service provider, said the official.

The illiterate and semi-literate fishermen will get benefit from advisories from experts in the form of voice messages, they said.

"Information and advisories would be provided to fishermen in the form of brief one minute capsules, which are focused on an area of local and contextual importance which is easy to remember. Weather alerts, tsunami alerts and cyclone alerts will help the fishermen to save their lives. Besides, they will also get information about fish market price, fish conservation, government regulatory and government schemes," said the official.
The fishermen enrolled will have access to a helpline, which would provide clarification on the voice messages and expert help. If necessary, the helpline experts may connect the fish farmers to specialists on a conference if required. Normal local tariffs may apply for calling the helpline, they said.