Traditional fishermen in coastal villages in Ganjam district of Odisha have desisted from fishing following Wednesday's earthquake centered in Bay of Bengal which jolted the east coast, official sources said today.
High tidal-waves lashed the coast for the last five days. The wave was higher after the tremor experienced in the coastal villages, sources, quoting fishermen. Said.
"Though the sea was getting normal yesterday, we did not go fishing due to fear," said M.Bairagi, a fisherman of Nolia Nuagaon.
The people of other fishermen dominated villages like Purunabandh, Gokharakuda, and Podampeta also stayed away from fishing yesterday, official sources said.
Since the government has imposed 45-day ban on fishing near the coast for conservation of marine fish species during the breeding season till May 31, several fishermen in the district generally go beyond 10 km from the shore in traditional boats for fishing, sources said.
Fear of possible tsunami also triggered panic among the fishermen as memories of the devastating tsunami in Andaman Island some years ago haunted them. "We are in grip of fear after the incident," said A.Dasuru of Gokharakuda.
Experts, however, said there was no cause for panic as the earthquake in Bay of Bengal did not trigger tsunami. "I have discussed about the incident with the scientists of Indian National Centre for Ocean Information Centre (INCOIC), Hyderabad. The tsunami warning centre of the INCOIC has categorically ruled out possibility of the earthquake triggering tsunami," said Pratap Chandra Mohanty, professor, marine science department, Berhampur University.
