Eerie silence of Tamil Nadu's beaches

By Sunil Raman BBC News, Tamil Nadu

The fishermen have to battle against bureaucracy and fraudsters

The eerie silence as dawn breaks on the beaches around Nagapattinam is disquieting.

Usually there are throngs of fishermen revving their boat engines and singing folk songs as they make their way into the sea for the day's catch.

But nowadays there is only a handful of people trying to get their catamaran going as white surf drenches them.

Much has changed since the 26 December tsunami destroyed their homes and livelihoods along the coastline of the Indian state of Tamil Nadu.

Gone are the big boats laden with huge catches returning home and the dozens of eager buyers cackling incessantly as they haggle for the prize catches.

Nagapattinam was one of India's worst-hit areas

No more women clutching straw baskets waiting to sell fish, or sandy stretches that doubled up as mile-long playgrounds for the children who occupied themselves all day.

Such activity was the same throughout countless other fishing villages on Tamil Nadu's coast on that fateful December morning.

Over 7,000 people in Nagapattinam district, lying north of Palk Strait that separates India from northern Sri Lanka, were killed by the tsunami and 196,184 were affected. Most of those were directly or indirectly dependent on fishing.

Logistical challenge

"How can we fish without big boats?" asks fisherman Nagaraj, 36, as he surveys the sea along with his neighbours from a temporary tin shelter.

Nagaraj's younger brother says: "The government promised compensation but the process is slow."

The reason why things are so slow moving is because the state administration is dealing with the logistical challenge of identifying the actual number of fishermen without boats.

Many fishermen are still without vessels

And a huge number of boats and nets are needed.

"The problem is that many people who did not own boats have staked a claim to the new ones being given out," said Vivekanada, a coordinator of local charities.

The administration has finished the process of paying compensation to catamaran owners.

But the problem with a catamaran is that it cannot be taken very far into the sea and the catch is only adequate for personal consumption.

Every morning catamarans take to the sea and they return with a few fish, but it is only enough for two square meals for each person in the day.

"I have managed to catch five fish and we will make a curry for the family," said 60-year-old Marimuthu.

Community camaraderie

Another problem is that catamaran catches do not help the fishermen to generate incomes that earlier enabled them to have a reasonable standard of living on the beach front.

The government promised compensation but the process is slow Nagapattinam fisherman

"We had mechanized boats that used to fetch us more than 500 rupees per day ($11). The catamaran does not allow that scale of operation," said Selvaraj.

"Even the odd person that has managed to get a mechanised boat from the authorities is bound by the camaraderie shared in the community.

"I will not take my boat out until all my colleagues get on", said Selvaraj. "How can I go to sea and earn while they wait on the shores?''

A gleaming orange boat given to him by a local charity lies unused.

Selvaraj says that 24 boats were lost in his community and a local charity has promised to replace all. But until that happens, he says he will not use the new boat.

Similar views were voiced by fishermen all over the different parts of Nagapattinam.

There is also a big problem of compensation.

Some fishermen allege that they had been given only a fraction of what was needed to buy nets.

One fisherman in Akkarapatei complained that he had been given around $1,000 (40,000 rupees) to buy a net when he needed over $2,280 (100,000 rupees)

Most fishermen are dependent on monthly government dole to feed their family. They get over $22 (1,000 rupees) per month for the bare essentials.

There is strong sense of community among the fishermen

But the psychological trauma caused by loss of livelihood has forced many men to take to alcohol.

Vivekanada says that some individuals and organisations - in their eagerness to help everyone - are damaging the age-old economic structure of the fishing community.

"Everyone in a fishing community has their task cut. Some own boats and others accompany them, while others helping in sorting and selling fish.

"But some charities want to give a boat to every fisherman. This will cause enormous damage in the long run," he said.

There are reports of affected people in one area forcing the transfer of a local bishop because he gave a correct assessment of the loss of boats and nets.

As one member of a local charity said: "Many affected people see post-tsunami as an opportunity to gain more assets.

"Many fished without a licence from the fisheries department and in the absence of records the job of the administration has become difficult."

The tragedy is that the job of the real fishermen has also become a lot harder too.