Mechanised boats strike work after ice-bar price hike

Thoothukudi Fishing Harbour boats strike over ice-bar price hike from ₹140 to ₹150, citing unjustified increase by manufacturers.

The mechanised boats operating from Thoothukudi Fishing Harbour struck work on Monday in protest against the hike in ice-bar price from existing ₹140 to ₹150 per bar.

 After the Tamil Nadu Government recently increased the power tariff, the ice-bar manufacturers supplying ice-bars to the 265 mechanised boats operating from Thoothukudi Fishing Harbour have increased the price from ₹140 to ₹150 per bar. As the mechanised boats, which would leave the fishing harbour at 5 a.m. and return to the base before 10 p.m. on the same day, have to preserve their catches until they reach the shore, each boat would be in need of 35 ice-bars everyday.

 In other words, each boat owner would have to spend up to ₹5,000 for buying the ice-bars everyday.

 When the ice-bar manufacturers increased the price of ice- bar from existing ₹140 to ₹150 on Sunday night, the mechanised boat owners struck work on Monday morning saying that the sudden price hike was unacceptable. Consequently, all 265 boats remained berthed at Thoothukudi Fishing Harbour.

 “We’ve been forced to increase the price of the ice- bars as the Tamil Nadu Government sharply increased the power tariff. After manufacturing the ice-bars, we’ve to transport it from our plant to the fishing harbour in our vehicles. We’ve to load the ice-bars in our plant and unload it in the fishing harbour. Since the loading and unloading costs have also increased, we’ve hiked the price from, ₹140 to ₹150,” justify the ice-bar manufacturers.

 However, the mechanised boat owners reject this argument saying that over 7,000 ice-bars were being supplied to the 200-odd boats going for fishing everyday. “Even the existing price of Rs. 140 per bar is a profitable deal for the manufacturers. They have unwarrantedly increased the price to ₹150 per bar after putting the blame on the government, which is unacceptable,” the boat owners say.