Porbandar, Gujarat: A small group of six artists from Mumbai sits in the open on raised wooden planks busily sketching the huge wooden trawlers docked on the side of the road leading to the narrow creek in Subhash Nagar, the fishermen’s colony near the Porbandar harbour.
The group has come from Mumbai as part of an art camp, and the fishermen’s colony along the long coast makes for a perfect locale. Amidst the backdrop of coconut trees, the raw beauty of shipping boats of varying sizes parked on the roadside makes for a captivating picture.
But the peaceful and romantic setting that these artists are sketching is in complete contrast to what these fishermen are facing in reality. Happiness is elusive when you are struggling for livelihood and over 250 of your brethren are languishing for years in Pakistan jails for straying into its waters inadvertently.
The poll fever across Gujarat has not affected the fishermen of this small colony, as they are disillusioned with the “empty” poll promises made by politicians before every election to garner their votes. Elections to the Gujarat assembly will be held in two phases on 1 and 5 December.
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Host of issues
Soaring diesel cost, low catch (of fish) near the coast, risk of fishing trawlers straying into Pakistani waters and getting caught by the authorities are among the host of issues being faced by the fishermen.
Fishing has become unprofitable for these fishermen and owners of small trawlers and boats. Most of the trawlers are not in use anymore and have been parked on the roadside because there is no space elsewhere.
‘Politicians promise big before every election, forget later’
That the support of the over-one-lakh-fishermen-community, along the106-km long Porbandar coast, is significant in the coming elections is evident from the way the candidates across parties are trying to woo them with promises of welfare measures.
While Congress’ Arjun Modhwadia assures that he will push for getting subsidised diesel for the fishermen, BJP’s Babubhai Bokhiriya promises to take measures to ensure their safety at sea and get their brethren languishing in Pakistan jails released. Bokhiriya has won from Porbandar four times and is fighting to retain the seat a fifth time.
However, Porbandar’s fishermen, who are mostly from the Kharva community, are not convinced with these promises.
Ramji. K. Shalay, a small-time fisherman at the Porbandar harbour, said this time around they have not decided whom to support.
“It’s the same story every five years. When the election comes, the netas come here and promise the moon. But nothing happens once they get elected. Our brothers, who have been taken hostage by Pakistan, have not been released and the increased prices of diesel have hit us hard,” he pointed out.
Fishermen’s plea fall on deaf ears
The risk of fishermen getting caught by Pakistani authorities while venturing out in the sea is real, Porbandar Machhimar Boat Association president Mukesh Panjari told ThePrint at his office in Subhash Nagar.
Currently, there are some 1,200 trawlers and fishing vessels and as many as 272 fishermen from Gujarat in Pakistan’s custody, Panjari said. In all 378 Indian fishermen are behind bars in Pakistan, of which 271 are from Gujarat, according to a letter written by Union Fisheries Minister Parshottam Rupala to External Affairs Minister S.Jaishankar in March.
“It’s not that the fishermen stray into Pakistani waters intentionally. With catch near the coast dwindling, our fishermen have to go deeper into the sea and inadvertently cross the International Maritime Boundary Line (IMBL) and get caught by the Pakistani agencies,” Panjari said.
He also added that although trawlers are fitted with GPS, many fishermen do not know how to use it.
He further said that their association made several representations in vain to State Fisheries Minister Jawahar Chavda and Rupala for the release of the fishermen held in Pakistan jails and for a special financial package for fishermen of Porbandar. “But not much has happened.”
Misuse of seized Indian boats for terror activities, a concern
The fishermen are not just worried about getting caught by the Pakistani Maritime Security Agency if they stray into their waters, but also scared of the possibility of their seized boats getting misused for terror activities.
Panjari said that there is also a real risk of Indian boats getting hijacked and misused for terror activities. “All of us saw what happened in the 26/11 Mumbai attack. The fishing trawler Kuber on which the terrorists entered Mumbai was from Porbandar,” he pointed out.
It’s a double-whammy for fishermen
Fishermen in Subhash Nagar told ThePrint that it is a double whammy for them.
“Over the years, our catch has dwindled. Pollution along the coast has driven away the fish further into the sea. To recover our cost, we have to go into deep sea to get a good catch and we end up inadvertently straying into Pakistan territory,” said Sanjay S. Khudai, a fisherman in Porbandar who owns two trawlers.
Even then Panjari, who owns six fishing trawlers, said it’s difficult to recover the expenses. He has docked three of his trawlers because of high operating costs. “In one fishing trip, we spend anywhere between Rs 4 lakh to Rs 4.5 lakh. This includes the diesel cost and salary of the crew members among others. But these days we are finding it difficult to recover the cost,” he explained.
Porbandar Ice Factory Association president Ashish Premjibhai Torani, who owns three trawlers, said that because of high logistic cost, many fishermen prefer to drop anchor than venture into the sea. It’s difficult to sustain business like this, he told ThePrint.
“The biggest problem is that over the years our area has not been developed,” Raju Dalakiya, another fisherman who lives in Subhash Nagar, pointed out. “The roads are broken, electricity is erratic, and sewage is overflowing in the open. What did Babubhai Bokhiriya do to fix these?”
Porbandar goes to poll on December 1 in the two-phased elections.
(Edited by Geethalakshmi Ramanathan)
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