With shipping services from Lakshadweep to Kochi, Kozhikode and Mangalore ports coming to a standstill following strike by ship crew unions, thousands of passengers have been stranded in the Union territory and the mainland.
The Lakshadweep Development Corporation operates 24 ships and barges, including some passengers vessels, - M V Bharat Seema, M V Kavaratti, M V Minicoy, M V Lakshadweep, M V Amindivi and M V Arabian Sea. The inter island connectivity has also been affected.
The services have been hit after ship crew unions went on strike demanding termination of the services of the Marine Superintendent for alleged ‘dereliction’ of duty after the death of a crew due to cardiac arrest.
Shameem Ali Yosuf, a helmsman of M V Bharatseema, had died of cardiac arrest on Friday last after the ship anchored here.
The relatives and crew complained that the Corporation had not taken care of the deceased and failed to be present when the body was taken for post mortem.
Meanwhile, stranded passengers went on a dharna in front of the Corporation office here demanding subsistence allowance.
Maritime Union of India leader Mohammed Haneef said the ship’s operator had the responsibility to take the body of the crew home and carry out related formalities.
Though Lakshadweep administrator J K Dadoo held several rounds of discussions with the striking crew, a solution failed to materialise.
