Cyclone Ockhi: Latin Catholic Church to start stir as talks fail

Thiruvananthapuram: The Latin Catholic Church has decided to stage a day-and-night strike in front of  Raj Bhavan here from Monday to press its various demands in the wake of the cyclone disaster. The Church took this decision following the failure of the talks held with the government regarding relief for  the victims.  A meeting of the laity demanded that cyclone  Ockhi should be declared as  a national disaster and that Army planes should take part in the rescue operations.

Vicar-general of the Thiruvananthapuram Archdiocese Fr. Eugene H. Pereira told Deccan Chronicle that the strike would be intensified if the government did not act.  “Don’t force us to conduct a strike carrying dead bodies,”  said Fr Pereira. Earlier,  tourism minister Kadakaampally Surendran and Revenue Minister E. Chandrasekharan held talks with Church leaders, including Archbishop M. Soosapakiam,  and assured them that their demands would be met.

The Church leaders  asked the state government to ensure filing of FIR regarding the missing fishermen and allay  the concerns regarding the rehabilitation package. The FIR was needed for follow-up action for ensuring financial support for the missing fishermen. They also demanded that the anomalies in ration supplies should be rectified. An amount of Rs 2000 has to be paid weekly to fishermen till they can venture into the sea. Steps should be taken to support  fishermen who are not included in the welfare scheme,  they pointed out.