Eid brings profit to Kochi fisherwomen

KOCHI: “Eid was bountiful to us. We sold fish worth Rs 50,000. This happens rarely,” said the fisherwoman Mangayilamma of the Matsyafed’s Theeramythri Programme. They were busy scaling and slicing fish and packing them off to those crowded around the makeshift shelter in Kakkanad. “On an average, we sell fish worth Rs 10,000  every day,” they said.Passers-by throng the place as the women under Matsyafed Theeramythri Programme are dexterous at dressing fish. As soon as the trays are empty they replenish them with stock from their van. These women flock to Ernakulam in their van every morning to sell fish.“I have heart problems and it is cumbersome to walk around selling fish. The other women in our group too are suffering from similar ailments, now we are more comfortable,” said Vasanthi. “We leave home by 5 am and buy the catch from Chambakkara, after which we move around a bit and then settle down at the makeshift stall. The sale is good and increasing,” she said.  A group of six elderly women from North Parur said, “We leave home by 3 am and buy our catch from Munambam, and if that is not enough, we also buy fish from the Parur market and Varapuzha. We don’t move around and sell only from this makeshift shed.  We sell around 120 kgs of fish per day.”  “Though, we earn more profit when we sell fish door-to-door, this is more convenient as we have a vehicle and it is less tiring. We have to pay the driver as well,” they said. Even the groups from Mulavukad and Chellanam say that Ernakulam means brisk business to them. Eid was hectic but profitable. “We were short of fish as it was selling-off fast,” they said.  Roughly, fish worth Rs 40,000 was sold by the each group of six. People prefer them to other vendors for their hygienic ways.To offer more financial security and to curb vending by moving in buses with large basins of fish, two projects for fish vending women were formed. Among them are the Tsunami Emergency Assistance Programme under which ten vehicles were given and Tsunami Rehabilitation Programme which provided 41 vehicles to these fisherwomen. Even though their deadline ended last year the Matsyafed is continuing with the project to uplift these fisherwomen. The register records continuous growth in sale, said Girija, the project officer.They put the waste in buckets and keep the area tidy and clean. Sometimes people approach them for waste too. “Otherwise we dump it in the waters from wherever we buy the fish - Munambham, Chambakkara and the like,” they said. Asked about the pollution, the Matsyafed officials said it was on a low scale.  A sum of Rs 2.48 lakh is given to each group of which 85 per cent is grant and 15 per cent is a loan. “A team of scientists from Gulati Institute came here to conduct a study recently. The members were happy with its functioning. The women too responded positively,” said Matsyafed M Aboobecker, district manager.