Demanding the status of agriculture farmers, the traditional marine fishermen in Orissa urged the government to extend them cooperative loan at lower interest rate and also compensate them for the period during which fishing is banned along the Orissa coast to give a safe passage to Olive Ridley turtles for mass nesting in some selected beaches.
The Orissa government recently announced to provide cooperative loan to the agriculture sector at 5 per cent interest, two per cent less than the interest rate fixed by the Central government. It has allocated Rs 40 crore in the state budget towards this interest subvention.