Five thousand fishermen from Srikakulam, Vizianagaram and Vishakhapatnam in Indian state of Andhra Pradesh, who were fishing in the Arabian Sea on western coast, off Gujarat found themselves stranded, following the abrupt announcement of the lockdown by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on 24 March.
The fishermen in about 2,000 small fishing vessels anchored their boats in Veraval, as they could not travel back until the lockdown is lifted. They have been surviving on meagre rations, but these have now run out completely: there is no drinking water, and no medicine for the sick.
Two fishermen died of cardiac attack a few days ago and their co-workers are keeping the dead bodies, waiting for some help to take them back home.
“We have been held up here for the last 34 days, unable to go back as the lockdown was declared. Nobody has helped me, we sustain on meagre food, no drinking water or medicine. We are around 5,000 people – some on boats and the rest in a cramped facility on the shore. We can’t even sleep at night. Two people have died of heart attack. There are other sick people, but no medical help,” Raja Rao one of the fishermen told Sputnik on Monday.
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The federal government imposed a complete lockdown across the country from 24 March.
The fishermen said that they heard about help coming from their home states of Andhra Pradesh and Gujarat, but so far nobody has turned up to check their status.
The lockdown, which was initially announced for 21 days to contain the COVID-19 spread, has been extended by another 19 days. Though it was expected to be lifted after 3 May, reports indicate several state chiefs asked Prime Minister Narendra Modi during a virtual conference on Monday to further extend it since the virus continues to spiral in many states.
As of Monday, the caseload of COVID-19 in India had reached 27,892, which included 6,185 recoveries and 872 deaths, according to the federal Health Ministry.