May 16, 2020
The plight of the fishermen: The GOI has been asked to grant permission to thousands of fishermen to return to their respective villages who stand stranded presently on large private fishing vessels and trawlers.
The request has come forth from the workers who belong to various states of India like Gujarat, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Karnataka, Maharashtra and Goa. Due to lockdown they are facing immense difficulties and hardships. Apparently these are shortage of food and lack of clean drinking water. Staying so long on sea one can imagine what the living condition would be of these fishermen with money or wages in hand. They are not unable to travel back home due to travel bans imposed by the government following lockdown decisions.
The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) has issued a clarification that the government will not facilitate movement of the migrant workers and this stage has been protested by representatives of the workers, including the National Platform for Small Scale Fish Workers (NPSSFW).
“The MHA’s last clarification on the type of migrants whose movement will not be facilitated by the government has given the administration an escape route to shrug off its responsibility towards fishers. There has to be a clear instruction … on allowing fishers to travel back,” NPSSFW Convener Pradip Chatterjee said.
In a letter to Home Secretary Ajay Bhalla on 7 May, the NPSSFW said many workers were sick and some have even died because of the severe conditions they are facing. In that letter, NPSSFW called on the ministry to work to facilitate the movement of the fishermen with the Department of Fisheries, fishing associations, and unions.
“With 62 fishing harbors, 181 landing centers, and a total of 269,047 fishing boats around the coasts of the country, it is nearly impossible for all workers’ needs to be addressed without a coordinated plan,” the organization said in its letter.