The Hindu : Front Page : Four fishermen still missing, bodies of two found in Udupi district

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Wednesday, May 31, 2006

Front Page

Front Page

Four fishermen still missing, bodies of two found in Udupi district

Staff Correspondent

Nine boats capsize in rough seas; dead fishermen's families to get relief

TAKING STOCK: Chief Minister H.D. Kumaraswamy (second from left) at a review meeting in Mangalore on Tuesday. Ministers B. Nagaraj Shetty (left) and V.S. Acharya and Mangalore Mayor K. Ashraf are seen.

Udupi: Deputy Commissioner of Udupi district V. Ponnuraj said on Tuesday that nine boats had overturned in rough seas on Monday. As many as six fishermen had gone missing. Of them, the bodies of two had been recovered. There was no trace of the rest, he said.

Speaking at a meeting chaired by Chief Minister H.D. Kumaraswamy here, Mr. Ponnuraj said normally fishermen in coastal districts had an off-season of 57 days. But this year the monsoon started early. As a result, fishermen who had gone to sea were stranded there.

Nearly 350 boats from Mangalore and Malpe had gone out for fishing, he said. Most fishermen had returned with their boats. Officials were getting confirmation from the families of the fishermen if they (fishermen) had returned, he added.

As soon as information about the crisis at sea came in on Monday, the district administration contacted the Coast Guard. The Coast Guard could not immediately go to the rescue of the fishermen because of the rough weather, Mr. Ponnuraj said.

Deputy Commandant of Coast Guards Nithin Rathore said considering the bad weather, the reaction time of the Coast Guard was fast. A Coast Guard vessel had rescued six fishermen. The body of a missing fisherman Chandra (26), resident of Bhatkal in Uttara Kannada, was found at Kodikanyana beach in the district on Tuesday. The body of a fisherman Thimappa had been found at the same place on Monday.

Meeting

Mr. Kumaraswamy said he would call a meeting in Bangalore shortly of the representatives of people of Udupi district to discuss the problem of silt accumulation at the Malpe Fisheries Harbour, which had made it difficult for fishing boats to enter the harbour during the storm in the sea.

Mr. Kumaraswamy said while Rs. 1 lakh would be given as relief to the families of the dead fishermen, he would make efforts to give additional relief of Rs. 1 lakh for each of the families.

Medical Education Minister and district in-charge V.S. Acharya, MLAs K. Raghupati Bhat, K. Jayaprakash Hegde, former MLA U.R. Sabhapathy, and president of the Dakshina Kannada Mogaveera Mahajana Sangha Pramod Madhwaraj said the previous Government had permitted a company to construct a ship repair yard near the fisheries harbour.

Sea erosion

Mangalore Staff Correspondent reports:

On sea erosion, Mr. Kumaraswamy said the Government would find a permanent solution to the problem on priority. A Rs. 160-crore proposal sent by the State was pending with the Union Government for approval.

Even if the Union Government refused to allocate the funds for the proposal, the State would implement the proposal. "This is not just an assurance. But the Government is committed to implement it,'' Mr. Kumaraswamy said.

He said that after B. Nagaraj Shetty, Minister for Fisheries, told him about the stranded fishing boats off Malpe beach due to rough weather and heavy rain he and a team of senior officials left Bangalore to take stock of the situation.

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