Cyclone Ockhi: Kerala fishermen didn't use ISRO facility

Thiruvananthapuram: The fishermen have not bothered to use the search and rescue beacon provided by the Indian Space Research Organisation because  they rely more on natural warnings than on technology. The fisheries department of the previous LDF government in 2008  had come out with a novel scheme  to provide the fishermen  search and rescue beacon. Fisheries minister J. Mercy Kutty Amma told DC that the fishermen never carried  these gadgets in their boats and they were being used as toys by their children.  

False alarms were  raised by the  children putting the Navy and Coast Guard in trouble.  When a  fishing boat is in distress,  the signal will reach the harbour so that the   harbour officials and Cost Guard can bring  them   back to safety. “The fisheries department had been taking a series of initiatives to help the fishermen at sea. On Wednesday we held a meeting of top officials of ISRO, National Informatics Centre and Central Marine Fisheries Institute to discuss the issues,”  she  said.

Navigation and surveillance gadgets were planned to be set up in the  boats by this December.  The ISRO has agreed to provide space  exclusively for a satellite transponder for the fisheries department. The latest gadget would have a range of 1,500 km.   A top VSSC official on condition of anonymity told DC  that its  technology, if properly used,  will  benefit  lakhs of fishermen in the country.