200 boats leave Malpe to trace missing fishermen

With a hope to trace the missing fishing boat Suvarna Thribhuja, 200 deep sea fishing boats left Malpe shores for a combined search on Saturday late night.

Malpe Fishermen’s Association President Sathish Kunder told DH, “The fishing boats leave in batches. The 200 fishing boats, which left on Saturday night, will search for two days near Ratnagiri, Sindhudurg and Malvan areas in Maharashtra and later carry out fishing activities.

A committee of 25 fishermen has been formed to assist the search operations, the investigation by the Police Department and other agencies.”

The committee has decided to wait for three more days to see the steps taken by the state and the Union governments and then decide on the future course of action, Kunder said.

The police teams have already left for Kerala and Maharashtra as part of the investigation into the missing boat and seven missing fishermen. The Udupi SP has sent a team to look into the wireless message sent by a ship to fishermen in Maharashtra. The message intercepted on December 15 has sought details about boat mishap in mid-sea. The team will contact the ship crew and try to elicit more information, said Kunder.

Meanwhile, Dakshina Kannada and Udupi Fisheries Cooperative Marketing Federation President Yashpal Suvarna has urged the home minister not to hurt the sentiments of fishermen by issuing ‘unwanted statements’. The state government has stated that it has written to Isro seeking help to trace the fishermen. But the Isro has clarified that it has not received any letter from the government. The state government is neglecting fishermen’s community. The search operations should be stepped up, he said.