Fishermen struggling to pay off loans even three years after Tsunami

Even after three years, fishermen in Tamil Nadus Nagapattinam District are struggling to repay bank loans taken in the aftermath of the Tsunami.

Nagapattinam (Tamil Nadu), Dec 26 : Even after three years, fishermen in Tamil Nadu's Nagapattinam District are struggling to repay bank loans taken in the aftermath of the Tsunami.

According to fishermen, the Tamil Nadu Government provides them with 1,500 liters of diesel at subsidised rates every month to operate their ferries.

But rising diesel prices have weighed down heavily on them.

"Due to the increase in diesel prices, the earning margin has gone down for poor fishermen like us. We have to repay the bank loan as well that we took at the time when Tsunami had struck. We fear the Tsunami will strike again. We are living under constant fear," said Balu, a fisherman.

The fishermen appealed to the State Government to double the subsidised diesel quota.

"We require at least 3, 000 litres of subsidised diesel so that we can go further into the sea and earn more to repay the loan taken from the bank," claimed Thashinamurty, a fisherman.

Tamil Nadu was the worst hit Indian state by the December 26, 2004 tsunami, in which over 7,000 people were drowned.

ANI