Villagers living on the Colachel coast in Kanyakumari district have felt the blow of the powerful tsunami waves differently. While some have lost their dear ones, others have lost their houses. Many have lost their means of livelihood – their vallams (traditional fishing boats made of 4 wooden logs), canoes, catamarans and mechanised boats.
By Sreedevi Jacob
Villagers living on the Colachel coast in Kanyakumari district have felt the blow of the powerful tsunami waves differently. While some have lost their dear ones, others have lost their houses. Many have lost their means of livelihood – their vallams (traditional fishing boats made of 4 wooden logs), canoes, catamarans and mechanised boats.
“We had 350 mechanised boats in this area but none of them can be used now,” says Stanley of Chinnamuttom village, pointing to the boats pushed up ashore by the waves. “While the boats on the sea were thrown ashore, those that were tied to the jetty hit among themselves and the sides just broke,” he explains. This is the story for vallams and catamarans, many of which were completely destroyed because they are much lighter. Indeed, as one walks through village after village along the coast, one can see fishermen squatting together – smoking and talking, wondering when and how they were going to go back to the sea.
“We have been totally left alone by God,” sobs Paul of Muttom village. Paul lost his fishing partner and their catamaran to the sea. “Usually four of us go fishing together. But that day the other two wanted to rest. Now our catamaran is in three pieces and my partner has gone.” Paul’s voice betrays the pain he feels. His agony is understandable because, for about 150 metres into the shore, vallams and catamarans beyond redemption are lying strewn all over. While some are broken into pieces, others have cracks on the inside. Others still retain the water thrust into them by the mighty waves and hence have a bloated appearance. They all make the same statement – that they are no longer fit to sail.
Oxfam, along with the South Indian Federation of Fishermen’s Societies (SIFFS), has embarked on a livelihoods restoration programme to help them. The plan envisages repairing 1600 vallams and 4500 catamarans belonging to the poorer fishermen in some of the affected villages, including the worst affected Muttom and Chinnamuttom. Work has already begun in village Manakkudy.
SIFFS possesses a boatyard and has the expertise to repair these vessels. This includes a huge central storage capacity for spare parts and trained personnel. Oxfam, besides supporting the programme financially, is taking the lead in identifying the more needy among the fishing families and ensuring that they get what they require. “We have 60 carpenters and 40 motor technicians on our rolls,” says Anslam, a representative of SIFFS and supervising the operations with Oxfam volunteers. “The remaining requirement would be met by hiring skilled hands from outside.”
SIFFS also has a fair collection of wood which can be used to make or repair some of the catamarans. “The process of ascertaining the damages is still on,” he says. “We currently have stocks of wood for just 100 catamarans and this lack of wood is a major concern for us. The wood needs to be seasoned for a month before it can be cut and then pierced together to make the catamarans.”
While efforts will be made to replace wooden catamarans with the same, scarcity of seasoned wood might lead to replacing some of them with fibreglass catamarans. For the fisherfolk, it is still a long wait before they can go back to the sea.
