Andhra fishermen stranded in Gujarat amid lockdown to return homes on Thursday

Amaravati: With the sustained efforts of Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy, fishermen from the State, stranded in Gujarat, numbering 3,838 will return on Thursday and they will be sent to their native places and being in quarantine in their respective districts.

Speaking to media here on Wednesday Minister for Animal Husbandry, Fisheries, and Marketing Mopidevi Venkataramana said, with the intervention of Chief Minister and his close coordination with the Gujarat State government, 65 buses were commissioned to transport the stranded fishermen from Gujarat and 54 buses have already started moving. The remaining buses will start soon as there was some difficulty in pressing such a large number of buses into service in a short span of time.

He said that orders have been issued to the respective district collectors and officials that fishermen should be sent home only after the confirmation of no positive symptoms following quarantine guidelines. No one will be sent to their home without confirmation of their health.

The Minister said that about 3,838 fishermen will return to the state from Veraval Port in Gujarat and of those returning, 2,852 hail from Srikakulam district, 636 from Vizianagaram, 304 from Visakhapatnam, 21 from East Godavari, 24 from West Godavari, and 1 from Krishna district. They faced many difficulties during the lockdown in the faraway State.

Chief Minister has personally intervened in this issue and released Rs 3 crore from the CMRF for their safe return byroad instead of sea route as planned earlier which was said to be risky. The Chief Minister has discussed twice with Union Minister Nirmala Sitharaman and Gujarat government with regards to the safe return of fishermen, he said.

As per the latest update from the officials, the buses started on Tuesday and have already crossed Ahmedabad and special officer Satish Chandra is continuously monitoring the situation.

Minister recalled that previously, about 1700 members who have arrived at the state border from Mangalore port have been sent to their respective places only after the quarantine period following medical guidelines.

The Chief Minister is keen on rescuing the state people irrespective of where they are stranded. Despite the tough times of the corona virus, the state government is ensuring the delivery of welfare schemes while implementing the COVID-19 preventive measures strictly. But the opposition TDP instead being responsible at these times is trying to create a panic situation in the state by spreading false allegations for their political benefits, he said.