KENDRAPARA: The wooden boat making trade, considered one of the oldest professions, has declined by almost 70 per cent within last three decades in the coastal district of Kendrapara and its nearby region. With the advent of fibre boats, this age-old boat making craft has been rapidly losing its importance.
Three decades back around 200 carpenters of the seaside fishing villages under Mahakalapada and Rajnagar blocks used to make fishing boats for fishermen. Today, only 50 carpenters eke out their livelihood by making boats.
Ranjan Moharana, a 60-year-old boat maker from Ramanagar village said “In my father’s day, around 30 families were doing wooden boat making and repairing works in our gram panchayat. Now only 10 families eke out their living by boat making and repairing works.
There are already lots of good carpenters in many villages and it frightens me to think that this age-old industry could disappear from the district altogether.” He expressed his reluctance to see his two sons take up this profession highlighting its uncertain future.
Reflecting on the challenges of wooden boats, Pitambar Sardar of Talachua village said, “Large numbers of youths from the boat making community have left the profession as it requires labour with little income in return. It is only the elders of the community that are keeping this profession alive because they feel that no one from their community will be able to continue this. It is only the most needy among the youth that are adopting the profession and that too temporarily.”
Only traditional fishermen who fish in the ponds and rivers need wooden boats. But their numbers are dwindling by the day due to illegal blast fishing, a destructive fishing method used in the rivers using dynamite and other explosives to kill fish, said another boat maker.
Fishing trawler owners prefer purchasing their vessels from the boat-making units in Andhra Pradesh and West Bengal due to which there is hardly demand of wooden boats, he added.
“We used to fish in the sea with wooden boats two decades back. But now we use fibreglass boats. These modern boats excel in terms of speed, maneuverability, and overall performance. Their sleek designs and hydrodynamic hull shapes allow for faster speeds and enhanced agility on the water. With proper handling, a regular fibreglass boat can last for 10 to 25 years, whereas wooden boats need repair each year,” said a marine fisherman of Batighar, Ajit Mandal.