Post Cyclone Ockhi, experts stress importance of better infrastructure, dedicated Ministry to deal with fishermen’s issues

Even as uncertainty looms large over the fate of hundreds of fishermen who had ventured into the sea in the Ockhi-hit Kanniyakumari district, demands are being made for setting up a coastal satellite radio station, quick decisions on providing compensation to the families of fishermen who could not be traced and a separate Union Ministry to deal with fishermen’s issues.

“Fishermen from Thoothoor, Iraiyummanthurai and Neerodi regularly go for deep sea fishing and the only way to reach out to them is to set up a satellite radio station capable of receiving signals from 150 nautical miles,” said Sahitya Akademi winner Joe D’ Cruz, a member of the National Shipping Board.

While he was confident that fishermen using mechanised boats would have survived against all odds, Mr. Cruz was not sure about the fate of those who had entered the sea in around 50 fibre boats with outboard engines.

“The government wakes up only after the disaster strikes and fails to learn any lessons from the past. The question asked today is why do fishermen prefer the Cochin port in Kerala instead of local harbours. The receiving capacity of fishing harbours is not encouraging. Unless the government sets up a freezing plant, it cannot prevent fishermen from going to other states,” he said.

Arul Ezhilan, a journalist, who worked closely with the fishermen community, said the failure on the part of the State government to commit itself to the problems of the fishermen had caused unrest in coastal villages in the district.

Compensation issue

“The government’s fear is that it will be under compulsion to pay compensation to the family members if it revealed the fate of fishermen. Today, a fisherman will be considered dead only if he cannot be traced even after seven years. This rule must be changed. The government set a deadline since a fisherman cannot survive without food for more than two days,” said Mr. Ezhilan, who is touring the fishermen hamlets now.

Fisheries Minister D. Jayakumar on Friday indicated that the government might relax the norm of announcing missing persons as dead only after seven years. Locals say this should be done immediately.

A former IPS officer, who had worked in the coastal districts of Tamil Nadu, also said the responsibility of producing evidence to prove that a fisherman has died lays with the family, and more often than not, they had to go to court to get the compensation. “Change the time-frame taking into consideration the gravity of the situation, and make it simpler for compensation to be paid to the families,” he said.

Mr. Ezhilan said the government must come out with a compensation package on a par with what had been offered by the Kerala government. “A lot of well-qualified family members of these fishermen remain unemployed. The government should offer them jobs,” he said, warning that the people would wait only till Christmas.Mr. Cruz, who has years of experience in shipping and fisheries sectors, stressed the need for a review of coastal management and application of modern technology while constructing breakwaters in sea.

“While constructing breakwaters we are actually tampering with the course of nature and its consequences are clear. We have witnessed the sea making inroads in other areas. Instead of just dumping stones along the shores, we should adopt modern technology for construction of breakwaters. They should be constructed with adequate gap so that the wave will have some space for movement,” he said.

Reiterating that the Coast Guard and the Navy should act immediately without adhering to protocol, he said their personnel should be local candidates who knew Tamil.