The death of five fishermen and the disappearance of more than 20 from West Bengal following a cyclonic storm in the high seas have once brought to the fore the poor quality of navigation safety equipment with the fishermen.
“Twenty-three fishermen who ventured out on August 7 and August 8 are still missing. We are coordinating with the office of District Magistrate, South 24 Parganas and Indian Coast Guard, but there is no news,” Joy Krishna Halder, secretary, West Bengal United Fisherman Association, told The Hindu on Monday.
About 200 trawlers ventured into the sea on August 7 and August 8 of which two drifted to the Bangladesh side.
The boats, which were caught in the cyclonic storm, capsized about 40 nautical miles north of Bangladesh’s Hiron Point of the Sundarbans on Saturday.
Four fishermen were rescued.
Ships of the Indian Coast Guard and the Bangladeshi Navy are still carrying search operations along the international maritime boundary.
No alert on weather
“Every year precious lives are lost. We do not get any alert on the weather conditions. The wireless set that the fishermen carry has a range of only 15 to 20 km,” Mr. Halder said.
“We have told two State Ministers that the fishermen should be provided with better equipment so that they can return safely,” he said.
More rain likely
Meanwhile, with low pressure developing over north Bay of Bengal, rain is likely in several districts of south Bengal over the next 48 hours. Sea is expected to be rough. The fishermen venturing into the sea again from the State are woefully under-equipped, Mr. Halder said.
