Mumbai: With Maharashtra fisheries minister Nitesh Rane writing to Union minister Rajiv Ranjan Singh seeking urgent intervention on rising diesel costs, concerns are mounting over a looming supply crunch in Mumbai’s fish markets and a spike in retail prices.In his letter, Rane highlighted that 7,550 mechanised fishing vessels operated through 136 cooperative societies are facing “severe financial distress” due to escalating fuel costs. He pointed to a sharp price disparity caused by the classification of fishermen co-operatives as “bulk consumers”, forcing them to buy diesel at rates significantly higher than retail prices available at petrol pumps.The minister warned that the rising fuel burden has already led to reduced fishing trips, operational inefficiencies and lower catch volumes, threatening the livelihoods of fishermen, vendors and allied workers. He urged the Centre to reclassify co-operatives for retail pricing, introduce targeted subsidies or DBT support, and formulate a national policy to stabilise fuel costs for the sector.The letter comes amid parallel representations by fishermen unions, which have cautioned that the Rs 22-per-litre gap between retail (Rs 90) and bulk (under Rs 112) diesel rates could force boats to remain docked. The bulk diesel prices were hiked for fishing boats three days back following the Middle-East crisis.
