Kochi: The death of two persons and another missing following a cargo ship ramming into the fishing boat at mid-sea on the wee hours of Sunday brings to focus the lurking danger faced by fisher folks in the sea in Kerala Coast. The trade unions connected with fisher folks blamed the regulatory lapses on the part of the state and central government agencies for the recurring incidents of mishaps.
On an average 54 fisher folks are killed in the Kerala Coast every year during fishing operations, says Charles George, president of Kerala Matsyathozhilali Ekopana Samithi. “The cause of the death in the sea varies from heart attacks to mishaps. Hitting by cargo ships can be added as another risk element for the fisher folks”, he said.
According to him nearly 1,000 to 3,000 merchant ships passes through Kerala Coast every year on a South-West direction making it one of the busiest routes in the world. The nearly 27,000 fishing boats in the state operate on East-West direction makes the situation quite vulnerable for the fisher folks, he added. The Navy, Coast Guard and the coastal police should have an adequate system to ensure the safety of fisher folks in such a situation.
Demanding a registration of cases under culpable homicide against captain of the ship George also said the entire documents should be seized to prevent tampering. The government should file criminal cases against the ship crew involved in the mishap, said T Peter secretary of National Fish Workers Forum.
The incident is cruel and deplorable, he said. The 12 nautical miles into the sea from the shore is under the control of the state governments, while 12 to 200 nautical miles to the union government. The state and central governments should take action against the ship as it crashed into the fishing boat well within the territorial Indian waters, Peter said.
Rs 2 lakh relief for kin of deceased
Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Sunday announced a solatium of ' 2 lakh for the next of kin of the two killed in the boat accident off Kochi coast early on Sunday. The money will be sanctioned from the migrant labour welfare scheme under the Labour Department.
Though the money is normally sanctioned for registered labourers, this was taken an exceptional circumstance by the Chief Minister. The Chief Minister also ordered the police to conduct an effective investigation.
Fisheries Minister J Mercykutty Amma said that measures will be taken to ensure safety of fisherman even as CPM Ernakulam district secretary P Rajeev demanded that both Central and State Governments to ensure security of fishermen in the sea.
A senior state police official said that arrests in the case will be effected after following due process and the ship will be taken into custody with the consent of the Central Shipping Ministry. He also said that Navy and Coast Guard vessels and helicopters are continuing search for the missing. It is said that the shipping channel has not enough draft to bring Amber to Cochin Port.
The ship is learnt to be carrying fertilizers and the attempt would be to lessen the weight to bring it to shore. It is also leanrt that Director-General-Shipping and the Coastal police will conduct a joint inspection of the ship on Monday. .
Meanwhile the District Collector Muhammed Y Safirulla ordered the Cochin Port Trust to take the capsized boat to shore and conduct an investigation into the incident. The District Collector along with Fort Kochi Sub-Collector Adeela Abdulla arrived at Fort Kochi to oversee the rescue and other proceedings.
An official release by the Indian Navy said the accident took place around 30 nautical mile off the Kochi coast. On an alert, the Navy mounted a search operation by launching one Advanced Light Helicopter (ALH) and INS Kalpeni.
