KHAMMAM: Over 500 fishing families on the banks of Godavari River (Parnasala to Kunavaram) are in dire straits due to lack of employment amid the lockdown. Traditionally dependent on fishing, some of them stay on boats and others in the villages nearby.
They travel at least 20-30 km along the river to cast their nets. The fisherfolk usually sell their catch at the local markets. On a normal day, they earn Rs 500 to Rs 1,000. The lockdown, however, has left them in the lurch. N Krishna, a fisherman, said that the officials were not permitting them to fish in Godavari.
“Even if we manage to catch some fish, we can’t sell them in the villages due to the Covid-19 fear,” he said. The villagers, who’re paranoid about their safety, are refusing to buy their produce. “More often that not, the villagers stop us when we’re returning from the river,” said G Manga, a fisherwoman.“Our children are hungry. We need help from the government,” said another fisherman J Ramesh.
10 tonnes of fish found dead at Gadwal
Jogulamba Gadwal: Due to depleting water level in a minor irrigation tank, some 10 tonnes of fish were found dead at Peddacheruvu in Chenugonipally village of Gadwal on Saturday. It was a rude shock for the members of Chennakesava Fishermen’s Cooperative Society, as the fishlings were released into the tank last year by the Fisheries Department on 100 per cent subsidy. Losses have been estimated at around Rs 7 lakh. District Fisheries Officer T Rupender Singh said that due to rising temperatures and depleting water-levels in tanks, fishes were finding it difficult to survive