KOCHI: When the clock struck 12 on the midnight of Sunday, the coastal belts of Kerala witnessed a hair-raising spectacle. Thousands of trawlers berthed across the coast took to the seas in a single giant motion. This was the moment when trawlers hit the waters after the 45-day long monsoon ban.It is time for celebrations for the fishermen here. “This is our Christmas. All the fishermen will gather together for the grand party. It is a time for bonding,” Alfonse Fernando, a fisherman from Vypeen said.After over a month of inactivity, in the past few days the fishermens’ villages were abuzz with noise and life. Many of them who had returned from their homes in the neighbouring states, engaged themselves in final repair works. “The tools, the engine, the nets, etc., need to be repaired. The price of spare parts is rising. Though shopkeepers here stock up stores with goods worth 10 to 15 lakh, there is a scarcity,” Angelos, a boat owner, said.A flip side to many of the celebrations here lay hidden in this last minute purchase. Most fishermen were reluctant to buy the wares when 45-day break began.“We have to survive for over a month without any income, so no one does any purchasing then,” they said. When the lifting of the ban comes closer, everyone rushes to buy the goods and the prices skyrocket. “The nets, which used to cost us Rs 200 will now cost Rs 280 to Rs 300,” Angelos said. Moreover, by now, the fishermen having spent their holidays without work have no money left. So the they are left with the option of taking loans. “The banks are reluctant to pay us. So we take loans from money-lenders. The interest rates have gone up in the past few days, ” he said. The fuel, the ice and the general stocking up of the ship put a burden on the fishermen. On an average, trawlers have to fill about 1,500 litres of diesel. It would be 3,000 litres in the case of large boats. But nevertheless, the fishermen are not willing to let all this cast a shadow on their celebration. “This is the time when all of us set out to the sea together,” Fernando with a proud smile on his sun-beaten face, said.
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