The positive side to a cyclone?

There are always two-sides to a coin. While it is irrefutable that a cyclone causes mass scale loss of life and property, there is a small positive side to it too. The fishermen are happier post a cyclone, especially in Assam. Post the devastating cyclone Hudhud, which hit Andhra Pradesh and Orissa is October, the fishermen in Assam, some hundreds of kilometers away, on the next day, noticed that the Brahmapurtra river was literally crowded with hilsa fish, much more than what was usually seen.

That day and a couple of days after Hudhud, the fishermen in Assam had a great catch and they actually enjoyed the benefit of a cyclone! So if earlier they were catching around 100 kgs of hilsa per day, the catch suddenly shot up to 2000 kg per day! During these days, they earned much more than usual. In fact the catch was so good that many fishermen, who till that time had never had a bank account, went and opened one to deposit their money. Some went on to save over Rs.50,000. Many fishermen went on to redo their dilapidated homes

And this is not a one-off kind of thing – the same thing happened when Cyclone Phalin hit India last year. That time too, all the much-sought-after and expensive hilsa fish moved up to Dhubri in Assam, via the Bay of Bengal.  Those in the know that these fishes love calm waters and the moment they see waters getting rough, they all migrate to calmer waters.

Things are back to normal for these fishermen now, catching the usual amount of fish. But they are happy, having saved for the rainy days ahead.