Pozhiyoor fishers block Thiruvananthapuram-Kanyakumari National Highway

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Over a hundred fishermen from the coastal hamlet of Pozhiyoor staged a blockade on Thiruvananthapuram- Kanyakumari National Highway at Neyyatt-inkara town on Saturday citing laxity in efforts to find fishermen who went missing after cyclone Ockhi. Not less than 45 fishermen from Pozhiyoor and Paruthiyoor had gone missing in seas. The fishermen alleged that the efforts to rescue fishermen have lost steam. During the five-hour road blockade, the fishermen sloganeered and demanded that fisheries minister J. Mercy Kuttiyamma turn up at the venue.

The protest was called off by 5 pm after the Additional District Magistrate arrived here and assured that more fishermen from Pozhiyoor will be allowed to participate in rescue missions. Over a dozen fishermen will be sent along with Coast Guard for the next rescue expedition, officials said. The traffic along the national highway was diverted through alternative routes. Around 25 fishermen were reported to be missing from nearby Adimalathura coastal hamlet also. It has been around nine days since the men went missing. Protestors said that the stirs will be intensified if the government fail to locate the missing men.