Srikakulam: Pilgrims, fishermen stranded outside State amid lockdown

Srikakulam: Pilgrims and fishermen from Srikakulam district are stranded in different States. As many as 37 pilgrims from Singupuram village under Srikakulam rural mandal went on a pilgrimage in north India on March 16.

They were to have returned by March 24. As the Centre declared total lockdown, the pilgrims remain stranded in Kasi. Fishermen from different coastal villages in Etcherla, Ranastalam, Gara, Srikakulam rural, Santhabommali, Polaki, Vajrapukotturu, Mandasa, Sompeta, Kaviti, Kanchili and Itchapuram mandals migrated to Gujarath, Karnataka, Kerala and other States in work in mechanised boats.

In view of lockdown, the mechanised boats too were withdrawn and the migrant workers from the district lost their livelihood. But they cannot return to the places of their origin. Fishermen union leaders Chintapalli Suryanarayana and Moogi Gurumurthy urged the government to ensure the safety of the migrant fishermen.