20k fishermen lose boats due to cyclone

Around 20,000 fishermen in Odisha’s Bhogarai, a major marine fishing centre in Balasore district, have been left in the lurch after the super cyclone ‘Amphan’ literally devoured their means of income. The country-boats of the fisher folks have got damaged beyond navigable conditions in the strong winds of the sea storm that swept across the costal districts on May 20, making them unable to venture into the sea.

Most of the fishermen of Bhogarai belong to the below poverty line (BPL) category. They mutely witnessed their economy getting shattered by the Covid-19 lockdown restrictions. They were barred from sailing into the sea and stayed at home surviving on the ration items provided by the state government during the lockdown period.

After the state government on May 4 allowed fishing activity, the fishermen were back in the sea.

“We were just beginning to come out of the lockdown blues when we got the news that super cyclone Amphan is coming and it will hit the coast here on Odisha-West Bengal border. The state government advised us not to venture into sea. With no option left, on May 14 we anchored our boats in the fishing jetty here with a hope that the storm will pass without causing any harm to us. However, all hopes ended in despair as all our boats got damaged. These boats are no longer safe to be sailed in the sea,” said Karna Behera, Samar Patayat and Umakanta Behera of Udaypur village under Bhogarai block.