No clue on fishermen, families live in fear

A sense of fear has gripped the minds of the families of fishermen, who have remained untraceable for the past 23 days, since December 15.

The fishermen from the coast venture into deep sea fishing to earn their livelihood, but in the current case, the family members have hung on to their oars for life, hoping against hope to receive some good news about the missing fishermen.

The fishermen in the coastal districts, especially, are uneasy. The past couple of weeks have suddenly pushed them into a swirl of panic, following the ‘vanishing’ of their counterparts.

The seven missing fishermen are boat owner Chandrashekhar Kotian (42), who is a resident of Badanidiyooru in Malpe; his neighbour Damodar Salian (40); Lakshman (45); and Sathish (35) from Kumta; Harish Mogera (23) and Ramesh (30) from Bhatkal and Ravi Manki (27) from Honnavar. Pramod, brother of Damodar Salian, told DH, “We are living in constant fear but eagerly waiting for the arrival of my brother.”

Speaking further, he added, “Our entire family is engaged in fishing and has not heard of such an incident. Our elders used to tell us stories of fishing boats being hijacked in the past. We, however, have not experienced such an incident in our life.”

He said that normally, fishermen who venture out into the deep sea return to shore within around 10 days.

“I do not go fishing in a boat, but am engaged in fishing activities at the harbour itself,” said Pramod.

Damodar is married to Mohini for five years and lives in a joint family.

Chandrashekhar Kotian’s brother Ganesh Kotian said, “My brother is into fishing the last 15 days. He had purchased a deep sea fishing boat in partnership at a cost of Rs 1 crore two years ago.”

Chandrashekhar is married to Shyamala for 10 years. His mother-in-law has been living with the couple for one-and-a-half years. Chandrashekhar spoke to Ganesh on December 14.

Harish Mogera’s uncle Pandu Mogera said, “Harish has been working in Malpe for five years now. We are just praying that all the fishermen reach home safely.”

Keeping faith in the Almighty, the fishermen have offered special prayers at the Malpe Vithoba Bhajana Mandir.

Devotees at the Malpe Sayyadin Aboobakar Siddiq Jamia Masjid too have offered special prayers for the safe return of the missing fishermen.