Men turned to drink, drugs, women sold their kidneys

In the fishing village of Ernavur near Chennai, the impact of the tsunami led many fishermen to abandon their trade and turn to substance abuse. Women, left to support their families, resorted to selling kidneys. Twenty years later, the community still struggles with poverty and limited opportunities.

CHENNAI: n Ernavur, a fishing village near Chennai, the trauma of the tsunami saw some fishermen stop going out to see and turning to substance abuse. The women bore the burden, many selling their kidneys to support their families. Even after 20 years, their struggles remain.

L Sandhana, 38, from Ernavur tsunami quarters, lost her husband to chronic ailment 15 years ago. With her children, Sanjay and Sindhu, then just five and three, she sold a kidney for 1.5 lakhs to feed them and pay their school fees.

Now, her 20-year-old son works at Ennore harbor for 400 a day. “When the kidney agents approached, I went willingly — I had no choice. My children were too young to understand what I had done.

Even now, we struggle to put food on the table,” she said. Her neighbour A Kala, a mother of two, was only 25 when she sold her kidney for 40,000 in Madurai as her husband died of drug abuse after the tsunami. Today, her two children are married, and she sells fish to make ends meet.

“I can’t rely on my son to feed me. All I’m left with is this scar,” she said. I Poongodi, a resident of the tsunami quarters, revealed that women still resort to selling their kidneys and zygotes to sustain their families.

Many who made such sacrifices years after the tsunami, driven to desperation after their husbands who turned to drink, have since left the quarters. “It’s our poverty that keeps these kidney agents in business,” she rued. In Ernavur Kuppam, over half the fishermen abandoned their trade after the tsunami, citing fear and dwindling catches.

“Seasonal fish varieties vanished after the tsunami. I avoided the sea for three months, sold my boat at a loss two years later, and shifted to real estate,” said K Gnanasekar, 49. Of 30 fiber boats, only four remain.

Across the 11 fishing villages between Ennore and Ernavur, nearly 40% of the men have left the profession in the last 20 years. Stay updated with the latest news on Times of India . Don't miss daily games like Crossword , Sudoku , Location Guesser and Mini Crossword .

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