The Andhra Pradesh government has sanctioned funds to bring nearly 5,000 fishermen from the state stranded in Gujarat. Chief Minister Jagan Mohan Reddy on Monday approved the file to bring them back by spending Rs 3 crore from the Chief Minister’s Relief Fund.
Minister for Transport Perni Venkatramaiah had earlier said that the state government is considering evacuating the fishermen by boat, as they cannot travel by land or air at present.
Stranded due to the lockdown, many of the fishermen had complained that they were forced to remain on their boats with inadequate food, poor sanitation and no wages, as the Gujarat government refused to shift them to quarantine facilities. Two deaths have also been reported on the boats so far.
Andhra Pradesh and Gujarat state governments had decided to evacuate the fishermen in three cargo ships. Andhra government had also announced a one time financial assistance of Rs 2,000 for the fishermen.
Meanwhile, as many as 92 fishermen from Srikakulam and Vizianagaram districts in Andhra Pradesh were also stranded in their boats near an island off Krishna District due to rough sea conditions and were rescued on Monday, officials said. The fishermen had set out from Chennai on April 24 to Srikakulam and got stuck near Edurumondi island in view of rough weather on Monday.
Officials brought them to the shores and accommodated them in a government high school in Edurumondi village. They would be allowed to return to their native places after the weather became normal, Machilipatnam Revenue Division Officer NSK Khaja Vali said.
Andhra Pradesh now has a total of 1,177 COVID-19 cases. While 31 people have succumbed to the disease, 235 people have been discharged. While Kurnool and Guntur districts continue to have the highest number of cases, cases in Krishna district have begun to rise rapidly in the past few days.
PTI Inputs