More than 4,500 fishermen from the Andhra Pradesh, who were stranded at Veraval port in Gujarat owing to the lockdown, are being brought home in 65 buses and they are expected to reach their native districts by Thursday afternoon, Minister for Marketing, Fisheries and Animal Husbandry Mopidevi Venkata Ramana Rao has said.

“Bringing back the fishermen is an herculean task. The process began after Chief Minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy spoke to his Gujarat counterpart Vijay Rupani and Union Home Minister Amit Shah,” Mr. Ramana Rao told the media here on Wednesday.

Initially, the government had thought of bringing the stranded fishermen through the sea route, but the plan was shelved due to logistical issues.

₹3 crore allocated

“Bringing the fishermen by road involved a lot of paperwork. Of the 65 buses, 57 have started their journey. As per the update, they have crossed the Gujarat border. A senior officer Satish Chandra has been deputed for the work. A sum of ₹3 crore has been allocated from the Chief Minister’s Relief Fund for the task,’’ Mr. Ramana Rao said.

Most of these stranded fishermen are natives of Visakhapatnam, Vizianagaram and Srikakulam districts.

“As per the protocol, the fishermen will be shifted to quarantine facilities immediately after their arrival. If their samples test negative in RT-PCR tests, they will be allowed to go home and put under home quarantine,” said the Minister.

Fishermen from north coastal districts usually go to Veraval port in Gujarat and Mangalore for work during this season every year. Recently, 1,700 fishermen were brought back from Mangalore port.