Dubai: Fifteen Indian fishermen from Sharjah who strayed into Iranian waters and were placed under arrest have been released after six months and are flying home.
The Indian Consulate has offered to fly them home on Wednesday night, an official told Gulf News. Vipul, the Indian Consul-General to the UAE, told Gulf News: “We learnt of this group of fishermen who had inadvertently strayed into Iranian waters in December 2016. Our consulate in Bandar Abbas had intervened on their behalf and everyone’s efforts paid off when the group was released on May 28. Since none of them has earned anything for the last six months, we at the Indian Consulate decided to raise funds to fly them home. The fishermen will leave on Wednesday night by the Air India flight from Sharjah to Chennai.”
Girish Pant, a voluntary social worker mediating between the consulate and the fishermen, said: “I heard of the plight of these men from some migrant associations who got in touch with me. Once their release was secured, it was important these men got a safe and free passage home and am thankful that the Indian Consulate stepped in.”
The sponsors of the fishermen had to pay fines in the range of Dh15,000 to Dh50,000 to secure their release. They handed over the fishermen their passports and a token amount of Dh1,000 each.
Bala Murugan, 29, one of the fishermen, recalling the ordeal, told Gulf News: “I have been working as a fisherman in Sharjah for the last four years and, as a matter of routine, all of us take the boat out to the open sea for fishing. We typically fish for five days and return with our haul within one week. This time we were close to Kish Islands when the Iranian coast guards said we were in their waters and put us under house arrest. No food or water was given to us and we had been living in the boat for six months. We had some food supplies and our sponsor sent us food and water and that is how we survived,” he said.
These fishermen who are employed by Sharjah-based fishing companies go fishing in the sea close to Kish Islands. In a month, they usually they go on two or three expeditions lasting a week each.
Explaining the economics, one of them said: “In each trip, we are at least seven members in the crew. If we manage to make Dh20,000, we have to set aside Dh10,000 as the cost of diesel and other expenses for the seven days. Of the rest of the money left, the sponsor gets to keep 50 per cent while the rest is divided among seven of us. This way we manage to make approximately Dh2,500 each month.”
K. Rajendran, 59, another fisherman, said: “Now for six months, I have had no income and had been stranded, so this entire year is a waste for me. I will return home, meet my family and come back to rejoin my job as I have at least a year more on this residence visa.”
Of the 15, three fishermen are cancelling their visas and going home once and for all as the experience has made them very sceptical.
