The Gulf of Kutch is the richest fishing ground in this part of the world and fishermen from Umbergaon in south Gujarat and Vanakbara and Bucherwad in Diu, who are known as the best in the business, head straight to the Okha Custom House in Kutch for the mandatory creek pass.
“The fishermen of both India and Pakistan have a long history of fishing together and do not believe in boundaries. Nobody can snatch away their right to share the fish resource on either side,” said Kocherry.
India has an agreement with Sri Lanka on the maritime boundary in the Gulf of Mannar and the Bay of Bengal allowing fishermen from both countries to share the catch. The fishermen of Gujarat and Diu have long hoped the external affairs ministry would think of a similar solution with Pakistan.
Ramjibhai Solanki, the village head of Vanakbara and a local leader of the BJP, has written several letters to the prime minister, external affairs minister, members of Parliament from Gujarat and the chief minister of the state, but there has been no response.
And now, coast guards say the GPS recovered from MV Kuber points to a four waypoints-route indicating the trawler with five fishermen from Gujarat may have halted at Diu. “The Diu angle needs to be probed,” said officials in Mumbai.
For the fishermen of Gujarat this is disturbing, like the silence of the high seas. But they will have not option but to continue to venture out in the troubled seas in absence of a livelihood option.
The impoverished fishing villages along Gujarat’s coast are a sorry picture. There is no drinking water, no sanitation, no primary healthcare centres and very few schools. The women and children are the worst sufferers under the circumstances.
At last count, some 336 fishermen are still languishing in Pakistan jails. Many of Diu and Gujarat’s 25 lakh fisherfolk will feel ignored by the world, swept up in a gigantic brawl that is being fought largely over their heads.
Click here for Part I of this series : Fishermen in dock after terror attacks Click here for Part II of this series : Gujarat’s porous coastline is pristine but dangerous
