KANYAKUMARI: Seven families that fell apart in the wake of Cyclone Phyan 13 years ago have still not been able to pick up the pieces. Their breadwinners, who were fishing in the Arabian Sea when the thunderstorm began, were never heard of since, and their families prolonged struggle to secure death certificates for the fishers was to no avail.
The seafarers -- Mariya Rajan (27), Dasan (52), Romans (24), John Cleetus (30), Aneesh (23), Stalin (23), and Jimmi Kuttan (22) -- left for fishing from the Kerala coast in November 2009 and went missing along with their boat when the cyclone struck.
Recounting years of fighting red tape, Jimmi’s mother Rexaline said, “All the umpteen representations we have made to the authorities yielded no results. We all lost breadwinners of our families, and so even at this late age the parents are forced to take up whatever work available for sustenance.”
Rajan’s sister S Ceilia also spoke to TNIE about how the cyclone shattered their lives.
On June 6 this year, the collector issued a notification stating the government has formed a committee to probe whether the seven fishers were indeed missing. “If any member of the public has information of any of the fishers being alive, it should be brought to the notice of respective tahsildar, revenue divisional officer, sub-collector or the district collector within 15 days from the date of this gazette notification’s publication. If no information is received by the officials concerned, it would be construed that the fishers died during the cyclone,” the notification said.
Six months have passed since the notification, but the death certificates of their dear ones still elude the seven families. Founder-president of INFIDET (International Fishermen Development Trust) Justin Antony said, “The previous state government had provided `20 lakh and a government job to the families of fishermen whose lives were claimed by Cyclone Ockhi. We request CM MK Stalin to provide similar assistance to these families.”
When contacted, officials from the fisheries and revenue department said the committee formed to verify the claims had submitted its report to the state government and a final decision will be taken soon.