Three fishermen still missing as govt faces anger over delayed rescue
As three fishermen who went missing at sea on July 31 remain untraceable, Kerala Chief Minister VD Satheesan announced that they would release a standard operating procedure (SOP) shortly for the safety of the coastal community. The CM was responding to protests about state apathy by the coastal community. Delegations led by the CM and other ministers on Monday, August 10, visited the houses of fishermen who went missing during accidents in Vizhinjam, Muthalapozhi and Neendakara. VD Satheesan and Minister of Forests Shibu Baby John visited the house of 26-year-old Gautam Krishna, who was among the 11 fishermen on board the boat ‘Miomi’ when it capsized near Neendakara on July 31. Gautam’s father, Radhakrishnan, 48, and grandfather, Rajeevan, 76, were killed in the accident, while the search for Gautam has entered Day 11. Incidentally, the search for Gautam intensified only when his mother Reshma, while grieving for her husband and father, conducted a sit-in protest in front of the coastal police station at Neendakara, questioning the apathy. Similar was the situation in Vizhinjam and Muthalapozhi, where the search for fishermen John Matthias, 54, and Shijin, 32, remains unsuccessful. Home Minister Ramesh Chennithala and Fisheries Minister VE Abdul Gafoor visited the houses of Shijin and John. During the visit, John’s daughter, Jiji, conveyed the family’s displeasure with a recent statement by VD Satheesan, which, according to them, hurt the coastal community. When asked about the delay in visiting the coastal region, Satheesan asked whether anyone remembered what happened during the former CM’s visit. He was referring to the protest by the fishermen community when Pinarayi Vijayan visited the region after the devastating accidents caused by Cyclone Ockhi in 2017. John’s daughter Jiji said she faced a cyberattack after demanding an apology from the CM over the statement. The family has demanded the search be extended to the Tamil Nadu coast. The Ministers also went to the house of Shijin in Perumathura, whose fishing boat capsized at Muthalapozhi harbour on July 31. While the body of Sreemon, who went missing along with Shijin, was found the next day, the search for Shijin entered the eleventh day on Monday. Delayed search The Navy began the search on Sunday, August 9, with the vessel INS Kalpeni and a scuba team joining the operations. Currently, multiple agencies, such as marine enforcement, coastal police, the Fisheries Department and the Coast Guard, are part of the search operations. The CM said that the coastal region was witnessing an unprecedented search operation to trace the missing fishermen. However, the coastal community alleged that the rescue agencies were unresponsive during the initial hours of the accident. Jiji told the media that the marine ambulance ran out of fuel ahead of the search. She also said that lack of coordination among the agencies had affected the rescue operations. In the case of Gautam, advanced resources were deployed only after Reshma conducted a sit-in on August 5. The family alleged that no one from state leadership, barring Forest Minister Shibu Baby John, visited them. There were protests, especially against Fisheries Minister Abdul Gafoor, who visited the coastal region only after ten days. Bridge the gap Untrustworthy weather prediction and issues in disaster preparedness have been plaguing the coastal community for a very long time. According to coastal activist Vipin Das Thottathil, localised weather warnings have been a demand of the community for a very long time. He said that generic warnings often lead to loss of working days without any unusual weather event, causing distrust among the community. The coastal community is also miffed over the lack of disaster preparedness by the various agencies. “Due to lack of an SOP, nobody knows whom to alert first at the time of an accident. There is no proper training to effectively utilise the golden hours. Fishermen try to survive for several hours by clinging to whatever they get to stay afloat. These golden hours are very crucial. The government should spend its money to purchase equipment to communicate about accidents, GPS to track boats, life jackets and other safety features. The life jackets available are difficult to keep in their cramped vessels and also not compatible to use during their work. Instead of spending money on unnecessary studies and work, funds should be allotted to purchase equipment that could save lives,” Vipin said. Vipin said that community participation is often overlooked while thinking about solutions for fishermen's safety. “We have always requested to include community members in search and rescue operations, as they have a better idea about the currents, wind, etc. Even in weather prediction, community members can provide valuable inputs. Proper policy intervention is needed in these aspects,” he said.
AS three fishermen who went missing at sea on July 31 remain untraceable, Kerala Chief Minister VD Satheesan announced that they would release a standard operating procedure (SOP) shortly for the safety of the coastal community.
The CM was responding to protests about state apathy by the coastal community. Delegations led by the CM and other ministers on Monday, August 10, visited the houses of fishermen who went missing during accidents in Vizhinjam, Muthalapozhi and Neendakara.
VD Satheesan and Minister of Forests Shibu Baby John visited the house of 26-year-old Gautam Krishna, who was among the 11 fishermen on board the boat ‘Miomi’ when it capsized near Neendakara on July 31. Gautam’s father, Radhakrishnan, 48, and grandfather, Rajeevan, 76, were killed in the accident, while the search for Gautam has entered Day 11.
Incidentally, the search for Gautam intensified only when his mother, Reshma, while grieving for her husband and father, conducted a sit-in protest in front of the coastal police station at Neendakara, questioning the apathy.
Similar was the situation in Vizhinjam and Muthalapozhi, where the search for fishermen John Matthias, 54, and Shijin, 32, remains unsuccessful. Home Minister Ramesh Chennithala and Fisheries Minister VE Abdul Gafoor visited the houses of Shijin and John.
During the visit, John’s daughter, Jiji, conveyed the family’s displeasure with a recent statement by VD Satheesan, which, according to them, hurt the coastal community. When asked about the delay in visiting the coastal region, Satheesan asked whether anyone remembered what happened during the former CM’s visit. He was referring to the protest by the fishermen community when Pinarayi Vijayan visited the region after the devastating accidents caused by Cyclone Ockhi in 2017.
John’s daughter Jiji said she faced a cyberattack after demanding an apology from the CM over the statement. The family has demanded the search be extended to the Tamil Nadu coast.
The Ministers also went to the house of Shijin in Perumathura, whose fishing boat capsized at Muthalapozhi harbour on July 31. While the body of Sreemon, who went missing along with Shijin, was found the next day, the search for Shijin entered the eleventh day on Monday.
Delayed search
The Navy began the search on Sunday, August 9, with the vessel INS Kalpeni and a scuba team joining the operations. Currently, multiple agencies, such as marine enforcement, coastal police, the Fisheries Department and the Coast Guard, are part of the search operations. The CM said that the coastal region was witnessing an unprecedented search operation to trace the missing fishermen.
However, the coastal community alleged that the rescue agencies were unresponsive during the initial hours of the accident. Jiji told the media that the marine ambulance ran out of fuel ahead of the search. She also said that lack of coordination among the agencies had affected the rescue operations.
In the case of Gautam, advanced resources were deployed only after Reshma conducted a sit-in on August 5. The family alleged that no one from state leadership, barring Forest Minister Shibu Baby John, visited them. There were protests, especially against Fisheries Minister Abdul Gafoor, who visited the coastal region only after ten days.
Bridge the gap
Untrustworthy weather prediction and issues in disaster preparedness have been plaguing the coastal community for a very long time. According to coastal activist Vipin Das Thottathil, localised weather warnings have been a demand of the community for a very long time. He said that generic warnings often lead to loss of working days without any unusual weather event, causing distrust among the community.
The coastal community is also miffed over the lack of disaster preparedness by the various agencies. “Due to lack of an SOP, nobody knows who to alert first at the time of an accident. There is no proper training to effectively utilise the golden hours. Fishermen try to survive for several hours by clinging to whatever they can to stay afloat. These golden hours are very crucial. The government should spend its money to purchase equipment to communicate about accidents, GPS to track boats, life jackets and other safety features. The life jackets available are difficult to keep in their cramped vessels and also not compatible for use during their work. Instead of spending money on unnecessary studies and work, funds should be allotted to purchase equipment that could save lives,” Vipin said.
Vipin said that community participation is often overlooked while thinking about solutions for fishermen's safety. “We have always requested to include community members in search and rescue operations, as they have a better idea about the currents, wind, etc. Even in weather prediction, community members can provide valuable inputs. Proper policy intervention is needed in these aspects,” he said.
