CHENNAI/NAGAPATTINAM: Minister D Jayakumar said on Friday that no fisherman was stranded at sea in the wake of cyclone Gaja as his department had taken necessary measures on a war-footing to ensure the safety of fisherfolk and protect their boats and equipment. However, TOI reports from Nagapattinam that fibre reinforced plastic boats ( FRP ) anchored along the Nagapattinam - Vedaranyam coast bore the brunt with as many as 3,250 boats found damaged.Referring to cyclone Ockhi that lashed the southern part of the state last year, the minister said the government had taken steps based on past experience to ensure the safety of fishermen and protect their equipment and boats. “There are 4,926 mechanised boats and 18,364 country crafts in the coastal districts. Fishermen were advised well in advance to return to safety and anchor the boats in fishing harbours. They did, but several boats were damaged beyond repair due to the cyclone. Several boats have also gone missing as they were pulled into the sea in the cyclone,” Jayakumar said.“Mechanised boats were safe and we also did not venture into sea for the past six days. FRP boats were carried away in the gusty winds and several were sunk,” S N Mohandass, a fishermen’s representative from Akkaraipettai said. He pointed out that FRP boats were comparatively light weight and hence Gaja’s impact was visible in them. The repair works may cost between Rs 50,000 and Rs 3 lakh. Farmers claimed that more than 25,000 acres of standing Kuruvai crops were also damaged in the cyclone.The minister also said that the state government with the help of the Centre had facilitated the return of 22 out of 38 fishermen whose boats moved to Sri Lankan waters due to cyclone. The remaining fishermen would be back soon from Sri Lanka. Of the 173 boats that reached the Sri Lankan coast, only 53 machined boats were fit to be brought back, the minister said.The fishermen who reached Nellur, Krishnapettai and other coastal areas of neighbouring Andhra Pradesh have been assisted by a team of officials. The minister said that 22 special teams under six deputy directors of fisheries department had been dispatched to the cyclone-hit districts to assess the damages suffered by the fishing community. “They are expected to submit the report after enumerating the damage to the boats and equipment,” said the minister.The team would access the damage to the boats in 333 fishing hamlets in Nagapattinam, Thanjavur, Pudukkottai and other districts and enumerate to extend relief measures, he said. The government would take necessary steps to rebuild the lives and livelihood of the farmers at the earliest, he added.

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