Latin Church leaders meet Guv; seek Centre’s intervention

Latin Church leaders led by Archbishop Soosa Pakiam on Tuesday met Governor P Sathasivam and submitted a petition requesting the Prime Minister’s intervention

The bodies of fishermen recovered from the sea by Coast Guard and Marine Enforcement being shifted to ambulance at Beypore in Kozhikode on Tuesday | A Sanesh

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Latin Church leaders led by Archbishop Soosa Pakiam on Tuesday met Governor P Sathasivam and submitted a petition requesting the Prime Minister’s intervention in strengthening relief operations post cyclone OckhiThe Governor has forwarded the petition to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh, Defence Minister Nirmala Seetharaman and Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, with a request for further necessary action, the Rajbhavan said in a statement.

The coastal folks expecting the return of their loved ones in front of St Thomas church,Poonthura, in Thiruvananthapuram on Tuesday | Express

Sathasivam also apprised Pakiam and the others on the steps taken by the Centre, state and the Army in rescue operations. The fishermen community in Thiruvananthapuram had taken out a massive Rajbhavan march on Monday seeking Centre’s intervention in further strengthening rescue and relief measures. The Church also said 232 fishermen were yet to be traced, even though the state government maintained 95 fishermen who had went to sea on country boats were missing.

The Church had also called for a review of the compensation package announced by the state. Archbishop Pakiam had already made the church’s dissatisfaction with the compensation package announced known. 
Following an all-party meet, the government had agreed to enhance the weekly assistance being provided to fishermen families from `2,000 to `2,500. It had also announced recruitment of 200 people from the fishermen community to the Coastal Police Force. One member of the family of the deceased would also be provided a job, it had said.

Bodies of eight more fishermen recovered

Kozhikode: The search and rescue personnel recovered the bodies of eight fishermen who lost their lives in cyclone Ockhi, from the sea off Kozhikode coast on Tuesday.  The decomposed bodies recovered by the Coast Guard and the Marine Enforcement Department were shifted to the Kozhikode Medical College Hospital. Deputy Collector (Disaster Management) P P Krishnankutty said DNA tests would be conducted to identify the bodies. The bodies were spotted about 12 nautical miles off Beypore. He said search operations for the missing fishermen would continue for some more days.