Women fish vendors basket of woes brims over

They are aghast at the lukewarm response of government to incidents of brutality towards them

COVID-19 related curbs, difficulty in commuting, and arrival of sophisticated supply chains and apps during the pandemic have made life difficult for women engaged in fish vending across the State. While incidents of police brutality and ill-treatment by protocol enforcers are on the rise, the women say they are aghast at the lukewarm response of the government that considers safety of women a priority. “I have been selling fish for the past 35 years and life has never been so difficult. We are scared to sit at our usual spots and many times a day we are forced to run from one place to another with the heavy basket. These days we get panic attacks seeing government vehicles and we wonder if fish vending is an illegal affair,” says Mercy, a fisherwoman.