The excitement in their voice was evident as Rayathi Bobbili (32) of Bukka Veedhi in the city, and Manmadh (42) of Bheemunipatnam, who were part of the stranded fishermen from Andhra Pradesh and returning from Gujarat, as this correspondent spoke to them over phone on Friday.
It may be recalled that 4,125 fishermen from Andhra Pradesh, including 418 from Visakhapatnam and various parts of the district, were stuck at the Veraval Port in Gujarat due to the lockdown. They are being brought back home by buses following intervention by Chief Minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy.
“We went to Veraval in July last on an eight-month contract to work on fishing trawlers operated from the port. We had completed our contract in mid-March and were planning to return, when the nationwide lockdown was imposed. Since then, we were living on the boats eating whatever the authorities gave us,” said Mr. Manmadh, recalling the harrowing experience.
Manmadh, who works as a cook on the trawler, is paid ₹10,000 a month. There would be nine fishermen on each trawler that goes out for fishing. He longs to meet his wife and his school-going daughters aged 11 and 9 years. “A total of 24 fishermen from our area (Thota Veedhi) went to Gujarat. We work for eight months at sea and spend the remaining four months with our families back home,” he said.
“We haven’t had proper food since the bus left Gujarat on the night of April 28. We were given potato chips, biscuits, mixture and some bland ‘rotis’ (pulkas). We were crammed in the two-tier sleeper bus with four persons sitting on each berth. I have been talking to my family every day and I am excited at the prospect of meeting them after nine months,” he said.
Echoing his feelings, Rayathi Bobbili said that all the medical tests were conducted in Gujarat and hopes that they would be sent home without any further delay. “The bus is at Karimnagar now and the driver, who is from Rajkot, doesn’t seem to know the route properly,” he said around 3 p.m. on Friday.
“A total of 418 fishermen are from Visakhapatnam district, while a majority of the remaining are from Srikakulam district. The fishermen from Andhra Pradesh are arriving in 54 buses. We will receive and accommodate them at the Railway Kalyana Mandapam, near New Colony, and the Port Kalyana Mandapam at Salagramapuram. They would be examined by a team of doctors and their blood samples taken,” Joint Director of Fisheries Phani Prakash said.
The buses with fishermen from Visakhapatnam are expected to reach Vizag late on Friday or in the early hours of Saturday.