In the wake of the warning issued by the India Meteorological Department (IMD) about the season’s first cyclone Fani, fishermen have demanded more specific reports on such events. According to them, natural calamities severely affect the livelihood of fishermen in coastal States. Cyclone Ockhi at the end of 2017 resulted in job losses for more than 30 days across the coast of Kerala, said Charles George of the Matsya Thozhilali Aikya Vedhi. He called for zone-specific warnings that are more accurate.A fresh round of a natural disaster warning means that fishermen will have to stay away from work, and a proper compensation package is needed for them, Mr. George said. The current scenario is that of a fish drought, and the most common varieties of fish are now imported from the neighbouring Tamil Nadu. Expressing concern at the developing cyclone, K.V. Thomas, MP, said here that the State should leverage the expertise of various institutions to handle natural disasters. Holding that coastal residents, including fishermen, would be bearing the brunt of the cyclone, he called for shore protection measures. Mr. Thomas said though several studies had been conducted on shore protection measures on the stretch between South Chellanam and Munambam, nothing had come of them. Though breakwaters had been proposed, none has been built along the stretch. The effectiveness of breakwaters has been proved by the system off the coast of Fort Kochi, he added. Meanwhile, Swathanthra Matsya Thozhilali Federation State general secretary V.D. Manjendran said the government’s announcement of a month’s free ration was not substantial enough. Most fishermen switch jobs during natural calamities and take up other work to make both ends meet. He also called upon the government to come forward to provide relief in the form of compensation for the loss of fishing vessels and equipmkent.
2019, The Hindu