Frustration mounts as hunger and joblessness haunt TVM coast

Thiruvananthapuram district yet again threw up the highest number of new cases on a day. It was 292 on Sunday.

However, on Sunday, no tests were held in any of the major coastal clusters outside the Corporation area- Pulluvila, Anchuthengu, Adimalathura, Pozhiyoor, Puthukurichy, Poovar and Thumba. Most of the cases in the official list are carry-overs from the previous day.

Some of these clusters, especially Anchuthengu, Poovar and Puthukurichy, have been showing an alarming spike in numbers. The Anchuhengu fishing hamlet, for instance, had clocked over 100 cases for two days in a row (August 7 and 8). The spread is so rampant in Anchuthengu that its panchayat president and two standing committee members have also tested positive.

Poovar, in the southern part of the district, had 19 cases when 40 were tested on August 7 but still no tests were held for two days in a row. Puthukurichy panchayat had consistently been throwing up a high number of fresh cases every day. But tests were not held on Sunday as there was a shortage of nursing staff.

The rigorous lockdown in coastal areas, which has been in force for over six weeks, seems to have worn the patience of the fisherfolk thin. The situation turned nasty in Pulluvila, in Karumkulam Panchayat, on August 9 when a fight broke out in a first-line treatment centre at Pulluvila.

The locals, it was said, wanted the FLTC to be transferred to a more accessible place. They were even more enraged by the restrictions in place. Shops were open only till noon and they wanted it extended to 4 p.m. Fisherfolk who were desperate to check on the condition of their fishing equipment kept in faraway places like Vizhinjam, and exposed to the turbulent sea, were prevented from moving out of their panchayat. With no income for nearly one-and-a-half months, they also insisted that the ban on fishing be removed.

They came out in large numbers on August 8, wilfully flouting social distancing norms, to demand that their village be taken out of the Critical Containment Zone. Most of their demands have been met. Shop timings have been extended and a small team from the village has been allowed to go to Vizhinjam and assess the state of fishing equipment of those in the village.

"Fishermen have also been allowed to go fishing once the weather calms, most probably by Tuesday or Wednesday," Karumkulam panchayat president G Anilkumar said.

The locals are eager to get back to work but here is another reason why they want the lockdown eased in their village: Cases in Pulluvila has been showing a decline in the last eight days. Even in the last week of July, the panchayat had shown a positivity rate of over 50 per cent. In the last eight days, the average positive cases when 50 tests are done is five. On August 8, when tests were held last, seven were found positive among 57 sampled.

Nearby Kottukal panchayat, which also had a high daily number, also demonstrated a slowing trend. Even in coastal areas like Adimalathura and Ambalathumoola not more than three or four are found positive daily. However, no tests were conducted on Sunday.

There is good news from Poonthura, the big coastal cluster in the Corporation area. On Sunday, 20 tests were done and none were positive. In the last week, there were just five cases reported from the region, which includes Manikyavilakom, Puthenpally and Poonthura wards.

An area of concern is the alarming rise in cases in the Kottapuram ward. On Sunday, 33 tests were done in the ward and 11 were found positive. By now, the number of positive cases in this thickly populated ward has reached nearly 150. "Social distancing and the wearing of masks are not strictly followed in the area and we suspect that people in the area have infected the nearby Venganoor ward," a health official in the area said.