Ockhi gone, but memories of ordeal continue to haunt Kumari residents

South Asian Fishermen Fraternity (SAFF) led by its general secretary, Fr Churchill, observed the first anniversary of the cyclone by offering floral tributes in the shore waters off the Colachel coast in Kanniyakumari on Thursday.

Fishermen from more than 40 coastal hamlets across the district struck work on Thursday as a mark of respect to those who lost their lives at sea in the cyclone, and paid homage to them. Scores of them offered candle-lit prayers in memory of the departed fishermen at churches on the occasion.

M Shyjin (32), a fishermen from Colachel who survived the cyclone, said that it could be him the local community would have paid homage to.

On November 26 last year, the mechanised boat they were sailing in was caught in the cyclone with six others on board. The boat that had ventured off Colachel sank mid-sea and the crew battled for survival for three days.

“The wrecked boat gave us a hard time and we were stranded about 115 nautical miles off Colachel. However, God’s grace saved our lives. We managed to return to the shore on December 2,” Shyjin told DT Next.

However, a debt-ridden Shyjin said the calamity should have claimed his life and his family, including his wife, son and daughter, could have received the solatium of Rs 20 lakh offered by the government. Shyjin said that his mechanised boat was built only a couple of weeks before it sank, and along with that, drowned his fortunes, leaving him bankrupt. He said he was struggling to make ends meet and repay loans.

The government offered a solatium of Rs 20 lakh to the deceased victims, however, no compensation was provided for those with wrecked boats.

Once a boat owner, the calamity turned Shyjin into a labourer, establishing himself as fisherman. It was too hard to get his children educated, he lamented.

Another victim, Maria Delphin of Colachel, lamented on the memory of her husband, fisherman John Davidson (36), who was the sole bread winner of the family and had lost his life in the calamity.

The SAFF secretary said that the cyclone affected over 3,000 deep-sea fishermen. As many as 204 fishermen, including 162 from Kanniyakumari, fell victims to the cyclone, but only 27 bodies were retrieved. A total of 27 mechanised boats and over 300 country crafts were left damaged and wrecked.

The government agencies should come forward to provide satellite phones and radio phones to ensure ‘SOS communication’ to save lives of fishermen in distress at sea, he said.