The reality that their boats are not sailing anytime soon is a huge hit for Mumbai's Koli community.
With Mumbai in a lockdown, business has been hit severely for several entities, but one community that depends on fishing are struggling during the coronavirus lockdown, which some of them describe as worse than storms which they encounter regularly.
The reality that their boats are not sailing anytime soon is a huge hit for Mumbai's Koli community. They are Mumbai's earliest residents and for centuries, they've gone fishing, to be stopped only due to bad weather and the monsoon. But this time, it is the coronavirus pandemic and the lockdown that followed that made sure that fishing activities have practically come to a halt. The fishing business has taken a huge hit due to logistical issues.
The organisations that look after the interests of the Koli community are worried as many families depend on their daily catch to survive. They are requesting the government to ensure they have ice supply to store whatever they are managing to catch so that their produce does not rot at the jetty.
"We do some fishing in the sea nearby. Because, whatever they catch and sell with that, they will buy their food. These are the folks who are fishing nearby. We are not even getting ice to store the fish. So the fish we catch is also rotting. It's not going to the market and the market is shut," Nitesh Patil, the secretary of the Worli Koliwada fishermen's body, told NDTV.
Vijay Patil, who heads the organisation, said, "Whatever help farmers are receiving, fishermen should also get the same help. Those who have jobs will get their salaries. Please think of us. We are suffering huge losses. We are supporting the lockdown and not stepping out of our homes."
Across the fishing villages of Maharashtra, where fishing activity has been stalled, the worries are about how the community will sustain itself. There is a growing demand for a relief package from the government for the Koli community.
Balu Agaskar, who heads another fishermen's body, told NDTV, "Our workers who are suffering huge losses should get a relief package from the government."
"We don't have other jobs and they don't have salaries.. Our entire families are dependent on this business," said Ritushree Divalkar, a fisherwoman whose daily business has suffered.
The Maharashtra government is engaged in setting up more clinics, relief camps and tackling the immediate crisis of stopping the spread of the highly contagious virus that has infected over 1,000 people in India. Sources say the government will look into the demands of sectors that have been badly hit, including fishing communities, once the lockdown is over.
Medical authorities also add that at this point, it's best for fishermen not to venture out as social distancing on boats is a huge challenge.
"It may be a Koliwada or even a hotel or a vegetable market. It is very important to maintain social distancing because this virus is a peculiar virus. If you keep distance, the chances of catching it are less," Dr TP Lahane, director of Maharashtra's Directorate of Medical Education and Research (DMER), told NDTV.