After relief, rehabilitation takes over

Now that the initial tsunami relief phase is over, both government and non-governmental agencies are grappling with the problem of rehabilitation.

The seven government orders on rehabilitation have been progressively more liberal, because, as NGOs point out, it is not just the fishermen who have been devastated, but also local industry, petty traders and associated businesses.

Livelihood is an extensive issue, NGOs say. Villagers are preparing lists of fishing boats and equipment they have lost. Some are exaggerated, but as NGOs point out, does this really matter?

The government is not saying 'no' to replacement of fishing boats. But there is the danger of indiscriminate distribution of new boats, especially mechanised ones.

Around 50,000 trawlers operate in India and Tamil Nadu alone accounts for 10,000.

Catches have been declining along the Nagapattinam coast though more expensive boats have been going out. So, the South Indian Fishermen's Federation (SIFF) says there is saturation and overinvestment in Tamil Nadu in deep sea fishing.

The government, however, says the second-generation of fishermen only want bigger boats. While their fathers went fishing every day and typically, earned around Rs 750, the younger men want to go out for three to four days and haul in a catch that is worth at least Rs 5,000 at a time. This obviously involves the use of bigger boats.

This is not the only problem. This coastline has seen a mushrooming of ancillary industries like ice plants, which have also been damaged. These will have to be up and running before fishing is revived.

There is also the need to provide work to a host of small occupations which have not been directly affected but survive on daily earnings. The microeconomy of the region, these groups warn, needs to be revived immediately otherwise the aftereffects of the tsunami could be disastrous.