KOCHI: Hundreds of fishermen and women under the auspices of the Coastal Area Protection Council on Monday marched to the BOT bridge at Thoppumpady and blocked traffic for over an hour in the morning raising various demands in the wake of cyclone Ockhi. The demands included constructing sea walls with breakwaters on the coast from Fort Kochi to Chellanam as is being done at Dronacharya area, removing hindrances in the construction of houses for the coastal fishermen, compensation of Rs 25 lakh to the families of those dead in the cyclone and government job to one member of the family, adequate compensation to others who have suffered losses and title deeds to the fishermen families.
The vicars of various parishes led the march. The police also did not make any effective intervention to clear the mob on the bridge. An ambulance which proceeded from Palluruthy to Karuvelippady government hospital to take a critical patient to the general hospital in the city got stuck in the melee. With the agitators not allowing the ambulance to proceed, a tense situation developed. Later, the elders intervened to make way for it. Fr Antony Topol, who inaugurated the march, said that though the authorities had agreed on several demands, many key ones were yet to be fulfilled, including construction of sea walls with breakwaters.
