A delegation of the Latin Catholic Church, led by Archbishop Soosa Pakiam M., called on Governor P. Sathasivam here on Tuesday morning and appealed to him to ensure that rescue operations are expedited to save the lives of fishers in the wake of Cyclone Ockhi.
The delegation, which also comprised Thiruvananthapuram Auxiliary Bishop Christudas and Vicar General Eugene H. Pereira, urged the Governor to see to it that the rules for recovery of bodies by the Navy and Coast Guard should be waived so that all the dead bodies found in the sea could be brought to the shore.
They also wanted 25% of posts in the Coast Guard reserved for fisher communities so that rescue operations could be carried in the event of similar disasters in future more effectively. The services of the Navy should also be enlisted to bring back vessels stranded at different ports, they said.
The delegation also repeated their demand for a visit by the Prime Minister to the cyclone-hit areas and declaration of the event as a national disaster. A press note issued by Raj Bhavan said the memorandum had been forwarded to the Prime Minister, Union Home Minister and the Chief Minister, with the request for follow-up action. The Governor had briefed the Archbishop about the steps already taken by the Centre, State and the armed forces for rescuing the fishers.
