Pele and his friend seen with the prized Chonak at Benaulim beach. Captured by : Santosh Mirajkar
MARGAO
After a hard day’s labour, he and his team netted two prized giant sea perch fish, locally known as Chonak -- the much sought after fish in the local market.
This Benaulim-based traditional fisherman Pele Fernandes, however, has decided to use the money he earns from the sale of Chonak for charity in times of the prevailing pandemic.
“We are traditional fishermen, who go out for fishing in the night and return back in the morning. We managed to net two big-sized Chonak. We have decided to use the money earned from the sale of the fish on charity. Some of our friends have succumbed to Covid infections. These are testing times and we have to all come together to help each other”, Pele said.
He added: “I will use the money to buy medicines and tablets and distribute it to the poor who cannot afford it.
The traditional fisherman had a piece of advice for Chief Minister Pramod Sawant and Health Minister Vishwajit Rane as well as the people slamming the government. “Instead of curses, let us all pray to God to give the Chief Minister and the Health Minister wisdom to guide them to get the oxygen supplies to the patients. They must have gone wrong in their approach. But, let us just look forward for good days so that there’s no further loss of lives due to Covid”, he said.
Pele also complimented the doctors, nurses and the paramedics, besides the frontline workers such as the police and the drivers, as he made a fervent plea to all Goemkars to stay indoors and stay safe.
