The tragedy surrounding a watery grave, apart from the obvious reason, is the long wait that often ensues for the body of the deceased to surface and be recovered. Thus, when a few hundred men go missing in the sea, the wait can be quite unnerving. In contrast, in the case of tragedies like an earthquake or a fire, the damage is immediately visible. And the body count comes in much quicker. Therefore, when PM Narendra Modi visited the cyclone-struck coasts of Lakshadweep, Tamil Nadu and Kerala on Day 20, the body count climbed to 72 with another body recovered, off Kozhikode.
After doing things right by announcing a solatium of Rs 25 lakh for the deceased, offering jobs to the dependents and continuing with the search till the last man is found, the state machinery, for some inexplicable reason, kept sticking like glue to 95 as the missing number. This came in the face of sustained pleas from the Latin Church that over 300 are still missing, something the state government has finally come to terms with.
Its initial failure in taking the fishermen into confidence cannot be wished away, its belated decision to send out search parties comprising fishermen into the deep sea notwithstanding. Only time will tell if the Centre declares the cyclone a national calamity. The big question regarding financial reconstruction of the ravaged fishing sector that has already lost catch worth about Rs 1,500 crore in Kerala alone in three weeks begs an answer.
CM Pinarayi Vijayan has pushed for central assistance worth Rs 7,340 crore, in addition to Rs 422 crore already sanctioned. Earlier, in Kanniyakumari, Tamil Nadu CM Edappadi Palaniswami sought a package of Rs 9,302 crore as Ockhi has claimed at least two lives while a similar number as in Kerala are missing. Modi tried to strike a chord with the Kerala fishermen by expressing hope about a happy homecoming for many before Christmas. Meanwhile, uncomfortable questions pertaining to an utter lack of preparedness in tackling future Ockhis will continue to cast their shadow as we welcome the New Year.