Cyclone Ockhi aftermath: Church all for PM Modi visit

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The Kerala Regional Latin Catholic Council (KRLCC) has appealed to  Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who will visit the state on Tuesday, to provide increased relief to the cyclone-affected fishermen.    Mr Modi  is  expected to visit the fishing hamlet of Poonthura here.    The KRLCC  demanded  a Rs 3,500-crore package for the holistic development of coastal areas.  The central  solatium of Rs  Rs 2 lakh announced for the victims’ families  was  inadequate.

The council demanded the formation of a separate fisheries ministry at the centre and   25 per cent reservation for fishermen in the Coast Guard  and Navy. Archbishop Soosa Pakiam said that  the disaster was no one’s fault.  The authorities and ministers have been doing their best to provide help  to the affected families. “The backlash from fishermen was due to their emotions and the government  had absorbed it patiently,” he said.   Mr Modi was expected to spend only  10 minutes at the fishing hamlet. When asked about it,  the archbishop said the people’s  sorrows could not be explained even in 30 minutes.

“We are happy that  the prime minister has decided to visit the fishermen despite security limitation. We hope his visit will ensure them more relief,” he added. All the 12 dioceses took part in a meeting to finalise the demands to be made before the prime minister.    Kerala Latin Catholic Association leader Shaji George said that the state government should come out with a white paper on the actual  number of the missing and dead fishermen.   “The  number of the missing persons was  presented in an immature manner by the ministers,” he said. As per the Church’s estimate,  around 179 fishermen were missing and nearly 70 were dead.