The Hindu : Tamil Nadu News : Sans gear, Threspuram fishermen are in the net

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Wednesday, Jan 26, 2005

Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu

Sans gear, Threspuram fishermen are in the net

By R. Vimal Kumar

TUTICORIN, JAN. 25 . It has been a month since the December 26 tsunami devastated parts of the eastern coast of the country, but 6,000 fishermen of Threspuram here are yet to receive aid from the Government for purchasing fishing nets, say the affected persons.

Threspuram, one of most densely populated fishing hubs in the State, wears a deserted look. The Country Boats Fishermen's Panchayat (CBFP) here said fishing nets worth Rs. 90 lakhs were destroyed by the killer waves.

Many families at Threspuram are reduced to penury as a majority of the 1,400 boats in the area are lying idle for want of nets. Fishermen told The Hindu that despite repeated representations to the Government through the district administration, no effort was made to help them procure new nets.

"All they have given us in the past one month is an interim relief package which includes Rs 2, 000 in cash, some rice, and dhoti, and nothing else," they said. "Could this `pittance' be a replacement for the earnings we get otherwise through fishing activities." Even in the relief package many materials were missing, they said.

The Collector, V. Chandrasekaran, today said missing materials such as bedsheets would be distributed in the last week of January and the first week of February. R. Raj, president, CBFP, said damage to the nets meant a heavy financial loss to the fishermen, who were forced to remain on shore.

Fishermen from Threspuram could bring hardly 8-9 tonnes of fish a day, compared to 100-110 tonnes they fetched every day before the tsunami attack. The fishermen said lack of quality nets, which costs Rs 1,200-1,400 apiece, hampered catching the species of Pomfrests, `Seer', `Vaval', `Bandari' and lobsters, which fetched them good earnings from export. According to fisheries experts, any further delay in providing aid to purchase nets could spell doom for fishing in one of the busiest fishing hamlets in the State.

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