Kanyakumari: Nine days have rolled on since ‘Ockhi cyclone’ had torn through the southern coast, but the Tamil Nadu administration is still uncertain about the number of dead and missing fishermen in the sea. The statements of the State Fisheries minister and the official statements sent to media in the name of the government secretary are contrary, forcing the bereaving fisher families further to “lose faith” in the Tamil Nadu government.
The media statement of the State Fisheries minister, Mr. D Jeyakumar on Friday that 2,805 Tamil fishermen along with 301 mechanised boats and 62 outboard engines-fitted country crafts are safe at various harbours in the states of Karnataka, Kerala, Maharashtra, Gujarat and Lakshadweep, however grossly differs from the official statement issued by Tamil Nadu principal secretary of information technology, T K Ramachandran to the media today. The latter put the total number of Tamil fishermen having safely reached the shores of various states at 2,134. Unlike the statement of the minister, the monitoring officer’s statement is appended with individual names, their naïve district and respective village.
The number of fishermen safe in other states according to the secretary, during a press briefing held on Thursday evening at Kanyakumari district collector’s office was 1,969. However a tabulated detail one mailed to the media the same day after the press briefing has a different number of 1,011 fishermen.
“We lose hope with the government because of these discrepancies,” said Rev Fr Churchill. “How can an administration that is highly inefficient even collect correct information of the missing fishermen even after nine days of the cyclone could save our fishermen,” he asked.
John P Rayan of Chinna Muttom said that the government so far has no idea of the number of Kumari fishermen who died at sea. “Based on the information of our fishermen who returned home, we have collected the data that 74 of our brethren have died in the sea,” said John P Rayan, who added that despite the detailed number of missing fishermen and dead fishermen given to the State and the Central governments through the Fisheries minister, Jeyakumar, and the Union Defence minister, Nirmala Sitharaman, the government, unlike Kerala, remains indifferent to take necessary action and announce due compensation.
The state government so far officially declared only five deaths in Kanyakumari district and announced an ex-gratia of '5 lakh to the kin of each. “It was our own fishermen who fished out two bodies that include the body of John Davidson, to whose family the governor visited,” added Rayan.
The meeting of some of the fishermen’s representatives with the Chief Minister, Edappadi K. Palaniswami on Friday in Chennai too was not accepted by many in Kanyakumari district as they continued with their road rokos and agitations at Colachel, Thengaipattinam and Tiruchendur. “How does the government expect the fishermen to repose faith on it, when they did nothing to rescue our brethren is the question lingering in the minds of the coastal community,” said Fr Churchil.
