Port chief dispels fishermen's fears

MANGALORE: The plan of action finalized between the port authorities and the fishermen leaders last Friday, should put an end to problems faced by fishermen in bringing in their boats to the port during distress, said New Mangalore Port (NMP) Chairman P Tamilvanan here on Monday. The port authorities had decided that boats in distress will be allowed inside the port after a physical check of the boat, the documents and the identity of the people by Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) personnel. ''We will not wait for the authorization or verification letter from the deputy director of fisheries," Tamilvanan reiterated.At a press meet on Monday, the chairman admitted that last Tuesday there was a bit of confusion which forced the injured fishermen to go to Old Port for emergency aid. ''I was at the port premises and had given the go ahead for the boat to be allowed inside. A delay in the message reaching the boat personnel may have caused this. I will not deny any boat in distress or injured personnel aid from the port's side," he asserted. The chairman said at the Port Security Committee held on Monday the fishermen issue was discussed threadbare.He denied that the Ocean Fisher II boat was turned back by port authorities on Thursday and said they cannot be held responsible for the mishap that followed.Indian Coast Guard Commandant (Operations) Rajender Singh Sapal said that he had received a distress call at 3 am, but without knowing the exact location it was difficult to dispatch a vessel for search and rescue operations. Later the coordinates were found to be 30 nautical miles off the coast.He reiterated that unless fishing vessels tag along each other in groups, especially during monsoon, and have life-saving equipment on board, it is difficult to avoid fatalities like this. ''If they had a couple of lifebuoys, they could have been saved as search and rescue operations take time," he added.Sympathizing with the victims, Tamilvanan supported the CISF saying that security aspect is paramount as the port handles 20 million tonnes of cargo of which nearly two million tonnes was LPG.On district in charge minister Krishna Palemars comments that the incident needed to be probed, Tamilvanan said the port was ready for any inquiry.