The Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court has directed the Centre and the State to take immediate steps to trace and rescue Ignatius, a fisherman who went missing off the Kanniyakumari coast on August 7.
A Division Bench of Justices K. Kalyanasundaram and T. Krishnavalli directed the Centre and the State to see to it that helicopters were deployed in the search operation. Ignatius went missing after his boat capsized while returning to Thengaipattinam harbour.
The court also sought details on the steps taken to trace Shibu, another fisherman who had gone missing off the Kanniyakumari coast in July. Federation of fishermen’s associations moved the High Court seeking a direction to the Centre and the State to rescue the fishermen.
The petitioner, M. Sathish Kumar, a member of the fishermen federation said that the construction of a check dam at the Thengaipattinam fishing harbour had an impact on the natural flow of water in the region.
Due to change in direction of tides, fishermen were facing hardship. Recently, protests were held by the fishing community to desilt the Thengaipattinam fishing harbour and to restrain the Public Works Department from constructing the check dam, he said.
