Scores of Tamil fishermen, who got stranded along the Arabian coast in States such as Gujarat and Maharashtra, left for home yesterday after they were provided the fuel for their return voyage by the Govt. of Tamil Nadu.

The fishermen, who had gone for deep-sea fishing off Kanniyakumari coast, were caught unawares of ‘Cylone Ockhi’ which hit the Kanniyakumari and Kerala coast in all its fury last week. Their boats got caught in the storm/cyclone and they were literally dragged on the high-seas and finally landed up along the coast in States as far away such as Gujarat and Maharashtra.

Initially, fishermen who landed up at Gujarat shores weren’t allowed entry by officials who couldn’t comprehend what the issue was as they couldn’t understand fishermen’s language. Later, they were provided food and shelter by the officials of Govt. of Gujarat and were well taken care of for more than a week. Same was the case with fishermen who landed up along the Maharashtra coast.

Govt. of Tamil Nadu set up a special team of officials who were dispatched to Gujarat and Maharashtra to bring Tamil fishermen back. Enough fuel was given to fishermen to return to Tamil Nadu from Wara Port in Gujarat and fro Ratnagiri in Maharashtra. In all, 538 fishermen from Maharashtra have started their return voyage in more than 70 boats to be back with their respective families after 10 days.