Ockhi cyclone disaster continues to haunt coastal Kerala, 18 days after it left a swath of misery, with the State government continuing to grapple with a horde of issues related to search, rescue, rehabilitation and political fall out.
The State government was yet to come up with an exact number of persons still missing, but Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, sharing the concerns of the coastal community, promised a meeting of representatives of fish workers organisations, the Latin Catholic Church and boat owners association that the government would extend the search for the missing persons to Goa.
The Chief Minister said that the government would conduct a combing operation under the auspices of the Marine Enforcement Department with the help of boat owners. The government proposed to conduct search and combing operations in small groups extending up to Goa. He urged the boat owners to make available at least 200 boats for this purpose. The final decision would be taken after discussions between the Chief Secretary K. M. Abraham and the Boat Owners Association representatives.
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Search workers' crunch
The boat owners pointed out to the difficulty in getting sufficient number of workers to join the search team, with the Chief Minister asking the fish workers organisations to take the initiative to bring sufficient hands to continue the search operations.
Mr. Vijayan said the government would deliver the compensation amount in a time-bound manner, since the current decision was to give the ₹20 lakh per head relief announced till date as lump sum. The government also proposed to provide housing for fishermen in the upcoming financial year, utilising the funds available under Life Mission and seeking more from the Prime Minister’s Awas Yojana.
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The Chief Minister said the State government will seek exemption from the Coastal Zone Regulation Act for construction of houses of an estimated 13,436 fishermen who did not have land or house and another 4,148 fishermen who had land but no house. Kerala had sought funds from the National Calamity fund under the National Cyclone Risk Mitigation Scheme.
The State government in the mean time has initiated steps to present a memorandum to the Prime Minister during his visit. Sources said that the government proposed to give a power point presentation to the Prime Minister on the disaster and the need for financial assistance.
Leader of the Opposition Ramesh Chennithala said he had sought an appointment for a UDF delegation to meet with the Prime Minister during his visit to brief him about the Ockhi disaster. The UDF delegation’s proposed visit to the Kurunji Sanctuary has been postponed in the light of the Prime Minister’s visit. Mr. Chennithala also demanded a comprehensive probe into the grave lapses in the early warning of Ockhi that caused huge loss in terms of life and property.