The owners of ‘Ajmeer Shah’, a fishing boat from Beypore that went missing on May 5 last year with 16 fishermen on board, are yet to get interim relief from the State government. They said the families of the missing fishermen too were concerned about the inordinate delay in granting relief aid.
“The cost of the boat along with the fishing implements lost in the incident is nearly ₹80 lakh. Though the families of the 12 victims from Tamil Nadu got compensation from the Tamil Nadu government soon after the incident, our State has been lagging behind in extending help,” said K.T. Shamsudheen, one of the boat owners. He added that the families of the four West Bengal natives involved in the incident did not get any aid from their State or from Kerala.
The fish workers and boat owners in Beypore are yet to overcome the shock of the incident. The missing workers had been familiar faces to the local fishing community here for over 10 years.
“The missing took place nearly one-and-a-half years after they joined the ‘Ajmeer Shah’ crew. Though we were hopeful of their escape with the help of the Coast Guard and the Navy rescue teams, it failed due to the rough weather and the turbulent sea,” said Mr. Shamsudheen. “After the incident, we sought help from various government departments and people’s representatives to get reasonable compensation for the families and to compensate us for the loss of the costly boat,” he said.
The boat owners’ association have demanded granting of a feasible amount from the Fishermen’s Welfare Fund to the families of the missing fishermen. Though promises were made to consider the demand during the initial days, no order was issued at the government-level. The association leaders said they would approach the government again with the request.
Fisheries department sources said they had done everything possible to ensure a reasonable compensation for the boat owners and the victims. Follow-up measures would be initiated considering the boat owners’ demand, they said.
