A meeting convened by the government at Thiruvananthapuram on Tuesday has decided to constitute an expert committee to study the impact of seaplane operations on fisherfolk. The names of the panel members have not been finalised, according to government officials. The meeting was convened after fishermen’s organisations raised objections to seaplane operations in Ashtamudi and Vembanad lakes on the ground that it would affect fishing operations. They had demanded that an expert committee be set up to study the issue.
The Ministers in charge of fishing and tourism were present at the meeting and the committee would be set up with the approval of both, a senior official told The Hindu. Reports that appeared in a section of the press on the names of the panel members were premature, he said.
Earlier, T.J. Anjalose, a trade union leader who took part in the talks on behalf of the fishermen, said there were apprehensions about omitting an expert whose name was unanimously approved at the meeting. It would amount to doing injustice to the job at hand, he said. Mr. Anjalose alleged that K.S. Purushan, former Dean, Fisheries College, Panangad, was among the proposed names, but there was a move to exclude him.
