The Hindu Business Line : Mending torn lives...

As part of its tsunami relief efforts, the Confederation of Indian Industry has worked out a three-phase rehabilitation plan to re-architect the livelihood mechanism of the fishermen community.

At Devanampattinam in Cuddalore district of Tamil Nadu, it is heart-breaking to find boats of all hues and shades that normally dot the sea, lying on the shore. There are so many boats on the shore, that you lose count soon, and most of them shining new! The fishermen do not want to go into the sea until all of them have been compensated adequately. They spend most of their time gazing at the deep blue sea from under a cluster of coconut trees... their longing for the sea is palpable.

But over 50 catamarans have already ventured into the sea with about 150 fishermen. Unfortunately, their catch — a minuscule percentage of their pre-tsunami bounty — has few takers, says Dinakaran, a rich fisherman, before the waves plundered his wealth.

"The catamaran owners have been luckier than us. They have received their compensation. But we, boat owners and trawler owners, are yet to get our due," he says.

So what's causing the delay? They want more; what they were offered doesn't account for even a fourth of what they have lost, he says.

As we grapple with their plight, a group of fishermen point to several school of fish; "these would be worth thousands of rupees," says one of them.

But they are optimistic. "There are NGOs and other organisations that have told us about advanced techniques and cold storage. If they are willing to impart the know-how, we are willing to learn and get going in life," says Dinakaran.

It's almost four months since the tsunami waves devastated coastal communities, but with help from organisations like the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) the fishermen are all set to start afresh. The CII has already given relief material worth Rs 7 crore. N. Kumar, Vice-Chairman, The Sanmar Group, and Chairman - CII Tsunami Relief Taskforce, says the CII wants to go beyond immediate relief. Boat engines were repaired with help from Ashok Leyland and Greaves; next on their list is rehabilitation of women and children.

D. Jagannathan, Joint Director/Project Officer, District Rural Development Agency, Cuddalore, says that while many agencies helped with temporary rehabilitation measures, the CII is helping out with long-term rehabilitation and is looking at a funding of Rs 16 to 18 crore. "Donor companies like Ford, Mahindras and Godrej, expressed their desire to work with the community and we're now focusing on projects that will make a meaningful difference in the lives of these fishermen," says Kumar.

He adds that Subroto Bagchi, Founder and COO, MindTree Consulting, wants to build a school for mentally challenged children at Port Blair, and a logistics company wants to develop a supply chain for fishing.

The CII has worked out a three-phase rehabilitation plan — immediate livelihood, capacity building and redefining fishing practices — to "re-architect the livelihood mechanism of the fishermen community", and seeks to play the role of a catalyst in the entire exercise.

Enhancing livelihood

Implementing Phase 1 of its rehabilitation plan, the CII has so far serviced 618 engines and repaired 166 boats in the affected districts of Tamil Nadu. But its immediate focus is to get fishermen back into the sea as soon as possible. "Local NGOs are working on this, but it being a very sensitive community, it has taken time for the NGOs to develop a rapport with them. As we involve the community in all our efforts, there have been fewer problems," says Jagannathan.

The local authorities are also working with the State-level bankers' committee, which controls the district-level banks. The committee has announced certain rehabilitation measures that could help fishermen's self-help groups (SHGs) in a big way. The Government now provides SHGs with Rs 10,000 as soon as they are formed (relaxing the earlier waiting period of 6 months) and with the banks lending four times the amount, the SHGs get Rs 50,000 as soon as they are formed. "Up to March 2005, we've assisted about 300 SHGs in 51 affected coastal habitations," he adds.

Despite all these measures, fishermen like Shenbagam of Devanampattinam are apprehensive about bank credit. "It would be better if they could give us subsidised loans. We don't have anything as security for getting credit," he says .

The government is trying to work around that concern too by requesting banks to treat the economic assistance and subsidies provided as security for additional loans. "So far, about 12 SHGs have been assisted; the government has provided Rs 10 lakh worth subsidies and the banks Rs 40 lakh worth credit for male SHGs for purchasing fibreglass boats, nets and engines," says Jagannathan. As part of permanent rehabilitation, CII proposes multi-purpose training centres at Cuddalore, Nagapattinam and Kanyakumari in Tamil Nadu, Kollam and Alleppey in Kerala, and Karaikal in Pondicherry, and developing a fishing market at Parangipettai.

The district administration in Cuddalorewants to help young fishermen who did not own boats before the tsunami, by providing boats in order to provide employment. Then there is the issue of helping farmers whose lands were inundated by sea-water, rendering the area uncultivable. NGOs are helping farmers to adopt organic methods of farming, assuring them that through this route the land can be made cultivable in six months against the normal period of three years. In Cuddalore, the district administration has announced measures to help farmers affected by the tsunami. "With help from NGOs, we have dug up five deep borewells, costing about Rs 20 lakh, in Kandakadu village, forming SHGs of land-owners for optimum utilisation of these borewells. We are in touch with the M.S. Swaminathan Research Foundation, and have requested them to suggest remedial measures," says Jagannathan.

Turning disaster into opportunity

"We want to convert this disaster into an opportunity by developing infrastructure, sanitation and housing facilities and develop markets and jetties, and create sophisticated villages. For that, we want professional help from organisations like the CII and local NGOs and support from the Government. We want to create model fishermen villages that did not exist before the tsunami," he adds.

Creation of a model village forms part of the CII plan too and it hopes to create awareness among fishermen on the need to:

* Increase market reach by investing in cold chains, refrigerated transport

* Examine options like aquaculture and fish-farming to improve the quality and value of their catch

* Use modern fishing methods

* Use the latest technology to improve yields

* Enhance communication infrastructure for information on sea conditions, fishing zones

* Create a training model on alternative livelihood skills to help sustain and supplement their fishing business

* Create common community infrastructure for better living standards

The district administration in Cuddalore is also keen to enhance the community's livelihood with technology. "We want to introduce activities like solar drying of fish, preparation of fish pickles, preserving fish, etc. In fact, even before the tsunami, we had introduced a scheme — in October 2004 — called Rashtriya Swayam Vikas Yojana, through which Rs 20 lakh was allotted for training women's SHGs in these activities," says Jagannathan.

Kumar feels every disaster teaches a new lesson. "It took us five months to get organised after the Gujarat earthquake and start rehabilitation, but it took us only a month here." Jagannathan is optimistic that once the work on permanent housing starts, the rehabilitation process would gain momentum. That would also help alleviate some of the fishermen's apprehensions.

Right now the CII is working with organisations like Ford, Rolls Royce and University of Michigan, "where we are trying to get new ideas from students," says Kumar, seeking support from more corporates, NGOs and the government.

Pictures by Shaju John

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