The Andhra Pradesh government had sanctioned a fund of Rs 3 crore to reimburse migrant fishermen who returned to the state during the lockdown. However, fishermen who had spent their own money to return from Gujarat are yet to receive the reimbursement. The state government, at the time, had asked fishermen to pay Rs 3,000 per head to return, which would be reimbursed later. Many of these fishermen had taken loans from boat owners in Gujarat to make the payment. But now, when the boat owners are asking for the money back, these fishermen are in trouble as the government’s reimbursement is yet to arrive. Now sethjis (boat owners in Gujarat) are asking for the money back and that too with interest. Where will we get such a huge sum of money? We took the loan on government’s assurance that it would reimburse the amount, said M Bulaya a fisherman from Srikakulam who goes to fish at Veraval Port in Gujarat every year. It was near the end of April that the state governments of Andhra Pradesh and Gujarat had arranged buses to bring back around 4,600 fishermen who were stranded in Gujarat due to the lockdown. At the time, the government had calculated the cost at Rs 3,000 per head. Fisheries department officials told TOI that the department has not been able to disburse the amount because the funds allocated for this are yet to arrive. Even if they want to use funds from other sources, they will need permission from the revenue department as those funds have been sanctioned for other purposes, officials said. We are hopeful that the funds will be released soon and we will start the disbursement process without wasting any more time, a senior fisheries department official said. Despite repeated attempts by TOI to reach out to state fisheries minister Mopidevi Venkata Ramana, the minister was not available for comment. On Friday, fisheries associations wrote a letter to chief minister YS Jaganmohan Reddy requesting him to disburse the funds at the earliest. Activist Arijili Dasu said, A formal request has been sent and we will go on agitation if the demand is not met. This year, we aren’t sure how many fishermen will actually be able to migrate to other areas. Hence their income is at stake.