Kochi: The Kerala Catholic Bishop Council and Catholic Bishop Council of India will observe December 10, the international human rights day, as a day prayer remembering the victims of the Ockhi cyclone. The KCBC has also called upon the faithful to contribute at least a day’s earning for the relief fund. The funds collected by each diocese should be handed over to the KCBC secretariat by December 31, a statement said on Friday.
The KCBC said that the number of deaths and destruction could have been much lower if the authorities concerned had acted earlier. “It is a matter of satisfaction that the both Central and State governments are now working vigorously”, the statement said. The KCBC called for better coordination between agencies such as disaster management authority, coastal development authority, marine enforcement agency, coastal police, coast guard and fisheries department to avoid such a calamity in the future. The KCBC has also sought a separate ministry for addressing the problems of the coastal region in the country.
