Caught in the strong current of the Pampa in spate, sometimes going against the current, they had no idea where their journey would end. Dusk was falling and they had a pregnant woman on their boat. “Those were moments when we feared for our lives and for the lives of those we were transporting.” The memory is still fresh in the mind of 50-year-old Michael Paniadima, one of the residents of Poonthura, a fishing hamlet in the south of Thiruvananthapuram, who closed his travel agency and went to Chengannur to help with rescue operations.
In the open sea, there is GPS to guide, but in the flooded Pampa, there was only a local man to navigate, and the fishermen’s unerring sense of direction. Michael says that the helmsman recognised a landmark in the pouring rain and they managed to reach stranded people and take them to safer ground.
On August 16, a group of fishermen under the Matsya Thozhilali Samrakshana Samithi had decided to go with 24 boats to Pathanamthitta, one of the worst hit by the floods. “By then, Matsyafed (Kerala State Co-operative Federation for Fisheries Development) had arranged for trucks to transport our boats and we were off by late evening. We were asked to report at Thiruvalla police station,” explains Anto Suresh, an office-bearer of the association.
At Cycle Mukku, near Chengannur, the floods prevented road travel and as they were waiting, a group of people requested them to unload the boats there as scores of people were trapped in remote locations without food and water. After some persuasion, they unloaded the boats and launched them into the flooded Pampa at Cycle Mukku itself.
Fishermen rescuing residents in Kalamassery
For the hardy seafaring fishermen from Poonthura, it was a trip they would never ever forget. All they had were biscuits and tea for sustenance, but they have no complaints whatsoever. “Food was the last thing on our minds when we saw the plight of the residents. We must have rescued about 3,500 people. One of our boats was in the water from 8 am to nearly 9 pm. Once we got into the water, it was clear that the task would be much bigger than we expected,” says Raju, another fisherman from Poonthura who was rescuing the stranded at Pandanad, near Chengannur. “There were times when I wondered if I would ever reach home. But there was no fear; I knew that we had the blessings of the divine for this task,” adds Raju.
After three days of relentless work, the team from Poonthura returned to a heroes’ welcome. Their only concern is about their boats, many of which were damaged considerably during the rescue. “It is our means of livelihood and so we hope the government will help us in repairing them,” says Raju.
Spontaneous decision
It’s the same tale reiterated by fishing villages all along the coast. Jijeesh Mukundan from Alappad panchayat near Karunagappally points out that when they decided to rush to Pathanamthitta and Kuttanad, it was not because the government told them to do so. “We did it because we knew we would be able to rescue people stuck in houses that had been flooded. With fuel at our disposal, we arranged for trucks and just moved in,” he says.
Upto 58 boats with single engines were transported in trucks to different districts and 420 men accompanied the boats.
“It is only now that we are keeping track of all those who went on rescue missions. There were thousands here who were helping. It was a spontaneous decision and all we wanted to do was help all those families trapped by the floods,” adds Jijeesh.
Two army men who had come for the holidays accompanied the men from their village. “Bichu Chandran had come home for Onam but he did not even go home. As soon as he heard about the emergency, he dumped his bag and joined the men travelling to Pathanamthitta and Chengannur. It was the same with Akhil Pushpan, another soldier,” adds Jijeesh.
He continues: “It is time people realise that movies like Chemmeen, Amaram and Chanthupottu do not define us. And all we want from the government is help to repair our boats, most of which have been badly damaged. It is our only means to earn a livelihood. Most importantly, we want the authorities to protect our extremely fragile coastline and beaches.”
Echoing Khais Mohammed from Fort Kochi who had said in a video post that he and his team mates were not going to take the ₹3,000 as reward for their work during the floods, Anto adds: “We saved our people’s lives. That is invaluable and we cannot put a price on that!”
