Come dawn, Chollangi Revu on the Kakianda-Yanam Road buzzes with activity every day. Bunches of seashells arranged on the roadside are picked up by traders, who arrive from faraway places to buy them from the fishermen, and load them on trucks. The trucks leave for places like Chennai, where the shells turn into beautiful artefacts in the hands of artisans and return to the market with attractive prices.
It is an open market at Chollangi, where transactions take place on the roadside and the price quoted by the traders is based on the availability of shells. Scientifically known as Molluscan Shell and ‘Penki Gulla’ in the local parlance, the shell is available only at the confluence points of river and sea during summer. Catching the shell is the lone source of livelihood for over 100 families of fishermen from Chollangi, Bhairavapalem, Uppulanka, Kobbarichettupeta, Matlapalem and Etimoga in Tallarevu mandal, and Ramannapalem in Uppada Kothapalli mandal, near Kakianda. The shells with life are available abundant in the muddy regions abutting the Coringa mangroves, where the fishermen reach by country-made boats, get into the mud to get the shells.
Tedious task“Collecting the shell is a tedious task. As the shell is very sharp, injuries to our legs are inevitable,” says Kamadi Satyam, a fisherman from Uppulanka while showing his feet. The job of the women from the community is to boil the shell with life and separate the meat and empty shell. “The meat is being sold here almost every day. Our womenfolk are masters at preparing a curry by using the meat and Bengal gram,” says Vanamadi Gangaraju, a fisherman from Etimoga.
“The fishermen here are unaware of the market value of the shells and that is why traders from Chennai are coming over here every year. On the lines of Girijan Corporation, the government must establish an agency to benefit the fishermen,” says Dasari Satyanarayana, founder president of the Coastal Rights Protection Committee.
“The government announced a ban on the excavation of the shell some 10 years ago. But still, the sale is going on every year. Red clan and bivalve varieties are available abundantly here and the exploitation will lead to ecological imbalance,” says T. Rajyalakshmi, president of the Society for Promotion of Integrated Coastal Areas Management (SPICAM). “A steady drop in the shells being collected by the fishermen is visible during the last five years,” she says. The Wildlife officials, however, are not available for comment.
