At a time when the fishermen community considerably contributed to the country’s economy, their welfare has been ignored by the governments, according to All India Fishers’ Federation members.
Speaking to reporters here on Saturday, they said a classic instance would be the way the officials and the governments handled the missing fishermen issue owing to the recent Ockhi cyclone that devastated Kanniyakumari district.
Repeatedly, the officials released false number of the missing fishermen after the cyclone, they claimed, and said the cyclone should be declared a national disaster.
Advocate A. Rajini, convener of the federation, said the government should find the missing fishermen on a war footing and a national policy should be prepared for the community.
N.J. Bose, State secretary of the Tamil Nadu Mechanised Boat Welfare Association, said that the government had failed to issue warning about the cyclone.
The government’s claim of the missing fisherman did not not tally with the original number, said Azhagan Kaiser, Kumari Mavattam Paravar Sangam.
S.P. Rayappan of the Pamban Paravar Nala Peravai, said that the search operation was being carried out only to a certain nautical miles. The authorities needed to widen the area of search to find the missing fishermen, he stressed.
Advocate Johnson said that Ockhi added to the woes of the fishing community with the Central Government already ignoring them.
Advocate Hattrick said that an insurance policy should be initiated to provide benefits to the community.
The Thoothukudi Fishermen Youth Wing member Fidelis said that the request for wireless phone connections for boats was still pending with the Ministry of Communication and Information Technology.
