Scuba divers repesenting Friends of Marine Life offer prayers for the victims of cyclone Ockhi in Kovalam on Sunday | Express
THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Underwater prayers for the fishermen who lost their lives in the high seas during Cyclone Ockhi were offered off Kovalam here on Sunday.Local NGO Friends of Marine Life (FML), which along with Kovalam-based Bond Ocean Safari organised the event, said the prayers were also meant to open the eyes of the mainstream Kerala society which, by and large, ignored the terrible fate which befell the fishers.
Twelve scuba divers of FML and Bond Ocean Safari took part in the all-religion prayer service on the seabed. The typed-out prayer taken down by the divers was laminated to prevent it from getting wet.
“The event was held at a depth of 10 metres. Despite such a terrible fate encountered by the fisher households, no writers or poets or the mainstream society in general uttered a single word in moral support. We also organised the event to provide solace to the families still waiting for their menfolk to return home,” said Robert Panipilla, coordinator, FML .
According to him, the FML also expected the unique underwater prayer to draw the attention of the general public to marine issues, especially at a time when the coastal waters are getting polluted due to mindless dumping of waste.
