Thiruvananthapuram: Maryalissa Sebastian, a 37-year-old mother of two young daughters, is having sleepless nights fearing the safety of her daughters at the relief camp at BUDS UP School at Valiyathura. "Our home is in ruin. We moved here around one month back and eight days back. There is no safety or security here and my daughters are 17 and 14 years old respectively.
They don't have the privacy to change the clothes and the bathroom facility is far away. I haven't slept peacefully after coming here and now the number of families at the camp has gone up," laments Maryalissa, who is one of the many at the camp.
"My mother had three daughters including me and my younger sister is a widow with two kids. My mother is sick. All we had was the house constructed by the Church and now that is also almost gone. All we need is a two-cent land and a safe place to sleep," Maryalissa adds.
Protest mounts against the apathy of the authorities. According to the local people, the Fisheries Minister Mercy Kutty Amma is yet to visit the affected families. The authorities are yet to provide financial assistance to the families.
"District Collector is yet to initiate steps to release funds for fisherman, who are unable to go fishing because of harsh weather. Revenue Minister, the Collector everybody visited and went back after giving promises," said Valiyathura Councillor Sheeba Patrick.
She said that the scheme rolled out by the Fisheries Department to provide rehabilitation for the fisherman families residing 50 meter in proximity to the sea has been stalled for the past one and a half years. As per the project, each family would be given Rs 10 lakh for buying land and constructing home
"There is fund and the project has been stalled for no reason. There are around 600 families at Valiyathura who are eligible for the scheme," she added.
According to the locals, the authorities have promised to supply stone for construction of a seawall on May 15. Tony Oliver, a resident and president of Kampavala Thozhilali Federation, said that they are planning for a dharna to protest the fisheries minister for turning a blind eye towards the displaced families.
