MADURAI
A division bench of Justices M. Venugopal and R. Tharani of the Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court on Thursday directed notice to the Chief Secretary and Kanniyakumari Collector while hearing a public interest litigation petition seeking equal compensation for both fishermen and other victims of Cyclone Ockhi.
The petitioner, advocate P. Puhazh Gandhi, said that Cyclone Ockhi had left Kanniyakumari completely devastated. Hundreds of people were dead and thousands went missing. Plantations and crops worth crores of rupees were damaged. The whereabouts of tribals living in the region were not known.
The petitioner alleged that the government’s failure to sound timely warning affected the people. After the cyclone, it moved at a snail’s pace to announce compensation. When the affected people demanded compensation, the government announced ₹20 lakh per fisherman and ₹10 lakh to others. The petitioner contended that this was discrimination of victims of Cyclone Ockhi.
The government ought to treat the victims equally and extend equal compensation to both fishermen and others. The petitioner contended that the compensation of ₹20 lakh should be extended to all victims.
