Fishermen raring to venture out in arabian for livelihood

It’s noon at Patthar Godi and Lalji Khoraba and Dahyalal Parmar are raring to venture out in the Arabian Sea again. For these fishermen the hindrance is only an order given by their association president not to venture into waters unless the cyclone has subsided.

These two fishermen along with 18 others, who had gone in deep sea in two medium sized boats on May 22 afternoon, almost had a miraculous escape. On Wednesday night when they reached Mangrol covering around 40 nautical miles and also venturing into deep sea they realised that something was wrong with the behaviour of waters.

Experts in judging the nature of sea, they soon figured out the severity of the cyclonic conditions. Luckily, engines of their boats were working properly. Back home, Mr. Khoraba’s 65-year-old mother had become quite nervous as the news of cyclone had already spread in the area. Tension writ large on the faces of the 10-member crew led by Mr. Khoraba.

Used to brave adverse conditions, all they did was pray to Sea God Varun Div. Water started entering in their boat "Vishal Sagar." The water current was high and the waves were rising three times higher than it would have been in normal circumstances, recalls Mr. Parmar, the khalasi.

The waves were surging at a height of around 15 to 17 feet, he says, adding that they all mustered courage and pulled the net into the boat with great difficulty. "Although our licenses to go in the Sea expired on May 15, we went ahead in the choppy sea for it was a question of our livelihood," says Mr. Khoraba.
"Of course, I did have apprehensions about the behaviour of the sea," he says; adding that he had experienced similar situation during the cyclone that diverted to Kandla three years ago. One has to get used to such conditions or else die without having food, says Mr. Parmar, who like others, earns his livelihood in the off season depending upon the catch.

The last trip of their boats Vishal Sagar and Jal Jamana was not fruitful. The only respite for the crew was that they could return back home on May 24 night. On returning they and their family members heaved a sigh of relief.

The crewmembers were not only re-united with their dear ones but they also gave them accounts of their adventure. "In normal circumstances, it would have taken four to five hours to return from Mangrol. But due to adverse conditions, we took nearly nine hours to anchor at the shore," Mr. Khoraba and Mr. Parmar say.
Other boats were not around to give them psychological support. In the vast sea only Vishal Sagar and Jal Jamana helped each other. Tulsi Dari, a boat owner, explains that usually boats of fellow fishermen try to locate the stranded boats.

He alleges that in most of the cases the Coast Guards are not available in the deep sea. The fishermen say that help of the Coast Guard is available only in particular area. Had the engine developed snag, we would have been put in great difficulty, the crewmembers admit.

As Jal Jamana’s engine worked a bit slow, the boat returned the shore two hours later than Vishal Sagar. Let the Association president give a nod and I will be back in the sea, Mr. Khoraba says.
Mr. Parmar too agrees with him. "Our life is uncertain and our family members are fully aware that whenever we go into water, we might not return," the captain says, requesting more facilities from the government. For the crewmembers this is an another experience that they have already left behind and are looking forward to their date with deep sea.

Republished from The Asian Age