Finally, aid to be distributed to the kin of Ockhi victims of Kerala
THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Compensation for the families of those who went missing in the sea during Cyclone Ockhi will be distributed on Tuesday. The programme being organized at Vettucaud Madre De Deus Church, near Sanghumugham, here will be inaugurated by Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan at 6 pm. According to officials, an amount of Rs 20 lakh each will be provided to families of 91 fishermen who went missing in the seas during Ockhi.
“About 92 fishermen went missing from the district during Ockhi. Of them, a fisherman’s body was recovered from the sea recently. Thus the missing statistics has now been pegged at 91. These fishermen are now presumed to be dead. The compensation is now being disbursed after considering it as an extraordinary situation,” said an official with the Revenue Department.
It is learned that of the 91 fishermen who went missing, 57 is from Neyyattinkkara Taluk and 34 is from Thiruvananthapuram Taluk. in total, an amount of Rs 18.40 crore will be disbursed in total as compensation on Tuesday.
“In the case of Thiruvananthapuram Taluk, we have identified 127 dependents and from Neyyattinkkara Taluk, it is 225 dependents. They will be presented with documents which certify that the compensation amount has been credited to their bank accounts as fixed deposits,” adds the officer.
Earlier, an amount of Rs 22 lakh each was disbursed to the dependents of 49 fishermen who fell victims to Cyclone Ockhi from the district.The programme at Vettucaud Madre De Deus Church will have the presence of Revenue Minister E Chandrasekharan, Tourism Minister Kadakampally Surendran, Deputy Speaker V Sasi, Shashi Tharoor MP and others.