Fisherfolk in Machilipatnam reel under livelihood loss due to cyclone

Livelihood loss due to Cyclone Montha has left fisherfolk in Gilakaladindi near Machilipatnam high and dry.

Though their boats, anchored at the shore before the weather worsened, were not damaged during the cyclone, owners incurred a loss of around ₹1.5 lakh or more as they could not go for fishing. Workers, too, incurred a loss of ₹10,000 or more. At the narrow creek near Gilakaladindi, over 60 country boats are anchored.

“Our lives are entangled with the sea. If we stay away for a day, we will not have food to eat and we go deeper into the vicious cycle of debt,” says Raju, owner of three boats. He incurred a loss of ₹1.5 lakh due to the cyclone.

“The warnings about the cyclone came immediately after Deepawali. It has been six days since we went to work,” says Suresh, a driver in one of these boats.

Each boat owner employs eight men, including a driver and a second driver. The team of eight venture out into the Bay of Bengal thrice a month. Each expedition lasts 7-9 days. While the expenditure, including expenses on diesel, ice, food, goes up to ₹1.5 lakh per boat, the income varies, depending on the catch.

“We go as far as Nellore on the one end and Kakinada on the other in search of catch. Sometimes, we get lucky if we get a good catch, which fetches us between ₹2 lakh-₹3 lakh. Sometimes, we return empty handed,” he says. The amount is then distributed among the eight workers and owner. 

Due to the cyclone, workers and drivers, who do not know any other work, had to borrow money from owners and other people to run their households. “I borrowed ₹5,000 from my owner,” says Suresh, who is married with two school-going children. Every time a cyclone strikes, their loans pile up, adds Mr. Suresh, who started going for fishing at the age of 12.

While there is no compensation for fishermen whose boats are not damaged, the State government announced that essential commodities, including 50 kg of rice, would be distributed among families who were put in relief camps and fishermen whose livelihood got affected.

Joint Director, Fisheries, Krishna district, Ayya Nagaraj said while enumeration has not been done yet, over 20,000 fishermen have been affected in the district. There are 63 fishing villages in the district. The loss in the aftermath of the cyclone, including those due to damaged boats and aquaculture ponds, has been put at ₹93.5 lakh, Mr. Nagaraj said.