KASARAGOD: Responding to a fishing job from Mangaluru, five fishermen from Parappanangadi in Malappuram district reached the Dakshina Kannada city on March 16. After six days in the sea, they returned with 1,400kg of expensive fish.
They were happy while returning as the catch was worth Rs 2 lakh, said Koyamon (43), one of the fishermen.
But their joy evaporated as soon as they dropped their anchor at Bengre jetty. They were told that travel restriction was in place as part of the plan to contain COVID-19. The next day was Janata Curfew and since then, Dakshina Kannada district was in lockdown. "We got trapped there," said Koyamon.
A fish trader came to them and quoted Rs 40,000 for their catch, saying there was no truck to take the fish out of the jetty. "We knew we were being duped but we were at his mercy. If it was in Malappuram, we would have got at least Rs 2 lakh," said Koyamon.
The yellowfin tuna, which weighed around 20 to 30kg, was bought at Rs 40/kg whereas the market price was Rs 500/kg, said Asainar Kutty (60), the oldest in the group of five fishermen.
The other fishermen were Muneer (45), Haneefa (46), and Kashmi (56). It was a double whammy for the fishermen when the boat owner from Tamil Nadu took a cut of Rs 30,000.
"We took up the job in Mangaluru because there was no fish in our area," Assainar Kutty said. But after six days in the sea, they got just Rs 1,000 each after expenses.
But their troubles were just getting started. To escape from the lockdown, they cooked and stayed in the boat. After 15 days, they ventured out to look for a job. "When we returned, the boat owner did not allow us to enter the boat," said Koyamon.
The fishermen tried to stay in a dingy room where the kerosine for the boats is kept. "They the owner locked it too," he said.
The fishermen said they had nowhere to go. "We were sleeping on the harbour's platform for 15 days. Dogs will come and sleep next to us," said Koyamon.
The meagre money they earned vanished buying food from restaurants that ran their businesses through the backdoor.
The fishermen were staring at starvation when another fisherman from Kasaragod put them through Noorul Huda Madrasa in Bengre. "The madrasa took us in and gave us rooms and pillows," said Koyamon.
When the central government eased the travel restriction on May 4, the relatives of the fishermen in Malappuram registered with the NORKA website for their homecoming. But they did not have a vehicle.
"When we came to know that the fishermen were stranded there, we thought of picking them up," said Noel Tomin Joseph, a Youth Congress leader.
He was running a bus to bring in around 25 nursing students from Mangaluru. The fishermen too joined them and reached Kasaragod Monday. "We reached home by 6.15 pm," said Asainar Kutty on phone.