VIJAYAWADA: Fishermen from Seethanagaram, Thadepalli and Polakampadu villages have left their boats berthed in the Krishna river at Seethanagaram and have taken up jobs as construction workers, sand loaders and other menial jobs following scarcity of fish in the river. They all are part of the 400-member Polakampadu Fishermen Co-operative Society. According to K Chamcham Raju, one of the fishermen, the number of people, who used to go for fishing in the river two years ago, trickled down from 50 to five to 10 now due to the drastic fall in the catch. The river near Seethanagarm, which two years ago bustled with activity now looks forlorn.
Visitors are greeted by the sight of womenfolk, with dejection writ large on their faces, sitting on the river bank waiting for their men to come back with some catch. Lack of water in the river is said to be the main reason for the shortage of fish. This year the government too did not release fish seeds into the river for reasons not known to anybody. According to Raju, the absence of inflow of water into the Krishna from upstream has stopped the arrival of fish. Raju says Godavari water flow into the Krishna has proved to be the bane for fishermen.
Godavari water, which carries mud, has hindered the growth of algae in the Krishna river near Prakasham barrage slowing down breeding of fish. In the face of this grim reality, the fishermen have been forced to look for other less remunerative avenues for a living.