Puri: As many as 16 fishermen of Odisha arrived at Chandrabhaga beach near Konark in Puri district in a small motorboat from Visakhapatnam early on Tuesday.
Following information, the local tehsildar and a Marine Police team went to the beach and took the fishermen for quarantine at the Konark community health centre (CHC).
The tehsildar said the fishermen will stay at the quarantine centre for 21 days and their swabs will be sent for tests.
He informed that of the 16 fishermen, five hailed from Penthakata in Puri and 11 from Nolia Sahi in Chandrabhaga.
Talking to the media after their arrival, the fishermen said that they were stranded in Vishakhapatnam after they had gone for deep-sea fishing near the Andhra Pradesh coast. But due to the lockdown, they could not return to their native place.
“As it became difficult for us to survive due to the closure of hotels and roadside restaurants, we decided to return. We purchased a small motorboat and left Tuni on Sunday and arrived here this morning by covering a distance of 520 km. Thankfully, it was a safe journey for us as the weather was clear,” a fisherman said.
