Op Gujarat to sail fishermen back to safety
SRIKAKULAM: The ordeal of the fishermen from north coastal Andhra, majority of them from Srikakulam, stranded in Gujarat, is likely to come to an end soon with the Andhra Pradesh government deciding to bring them back to the State by the sea. Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy on Thursday held talks with his Gujarat counterpart Vijay Rupani once again and sought cooperation from the latter for bringing them to Visakhapatnam through sea route.
“The Gujarat Chief Minister has agreed to the proposal of the State government,’’ Fisheries Minister Mopidevi Venkataramana Rao said on Thursday. About 5,000 fishermen from Srikakulam and other north coastal Andhra have been stranded in Veraval of Gujarat since the lockdown was announced across the country following the outbreak of Covid-19. Earlier, the State government sent relief materials and financial assistance to the stranded fishermen and proposed to shift them once the lockdown is lifted.
With the lockdown extended till May 3 and the fishermen forced to live in boats without proper shelter and food, the government has decided to bring back to the State through sea in special boats. In Srikakulam, Roads and Buildings Minister Dharmana Krishna Das said the government would give Rs 2,000 to each fishermen as immediate relief on their arrival.
“There was a plan to bring them back to Vizag after the lockdown was lifted but noe the government decided to bring them back at the earliest,’’ Krishna Das said adding that the stranded fishermen would be shifted to boats from Veraval probably on Friday and the boats would reach Visakhapatnam on Sunday. Krishna Das directed the district administration to set up quarantine centres with 1,500 beds for the fishermen.