Initially, the fishing community, not yet recovered from the shock and fear of the Tsunami, was in two minds about shifting.  They of course did not realize that they had to give up the existing land to get the new plots – they were not fully informed about the government’s plans.  We started holding discussions in different villages to explain what the government was proposing to do.  We also explained to them why a Tsunami is a rare event and why it is not likely to come again anytime soon. 

Today many of these people earn a good living from fishing - moving away from the coast will invariably mean that they will lose their livelihood.  It is all nice to say that they can move out and still come to the sea to fish.  But often fishermen go out to the sea at 3 am. How will they travel 2 km in the night to the sea?  Where will they their boats and nets? Who will keep the safe?  If resorts and hotels come up, they will often prevent these poor people from passing through to the sea.  We and the fishing communities have already seen this in many scenic spots across the coast where this has already happened.

The fear of the Tsunami removed from their hearts, the people began to see that if they shifted out they would lose everything they had - their livelihood and dignity. 

We began to work with a large number of other organizations to jointly organize anti-eviction campaigns. We prepared a cartoon booklet on the issue – clearly explaining the proposals and what it will do.  We circulated a large number of copies of this material in all the villages. Many organizations used this as a base material.  We also worked (along with other groups) to prepare a poster exhibition and organized state wide street theatre campaigns (kala jathas) on the issue.  We held discussions with the people in many fishing villages. We held talks with government officials.  We sensitized the larger public about the issue and also highlighted the issue in the media.

Thanks to these strong campaigns and the fact that so many people from the ‘elite’ sections were regularly visiting these areas and interacting with the fishing communities, the government realized that forcible eviction would backfire. They withdrew the order and announced that the local people can reconstruct houses within the 500 m.  A subtle pressure on the people to shift out continues with the government policy to not fund or reconstruct the houses within the 500 m line - asking people who want to stay within the line to fend for themselves.

But still the fact that forcible and compulsory eviction was stopped was a major success for the struggle and for the fishing communities – their livelihood is safe for the time being at least.