37 days since the deep sea trawler went missing

Team Udayavani, Jan 21, 2019, 6:21 AM IST

• Family member’s pain is overflowing

Malpe: 37 days have passed since the deep sea trawler ‘Suvarna Tribhuja’ went missing mysteriously along with its crew of 7 fishermen. There is no lead on what happened to them or where they might have gone? The hope and wait of the family members of the missing fishermen is increasing by the day. They are stuck in a situation without any direction. The family member’s pain is overflowing.

Was there an East wind?

It is being said that on the night of Dec 15^th, when all contact with the deep sea trawler was lost, a strong East wind seems to have been blowing on the Arabian Sea along Maharashtra’s coast. Under such a condition it is not possible to lay nets to catch the fish. There is an opinion that, in such a situation, in case a ship had collided with the trawler, the things onboard the trawler would have floated westwards due to the strong winds.

All the operations conducted by the coast guard and the Indian navy have been in vain. On Dec 11^th, 150 deep sea trawlers had left for fishing in the deep sea after which, many boats weighed anchor, phase by phase. Even when all these numerous boats indulged in locating the missing trawler, no credible lead was found, informs Gopal R K, secretary of the association.

Decision after a clear report

“The report provided by the Indian navy in connection to the damage suffered by one of its ships is not clear. Only after a clear report is provided, a meeting will be held with all the fishermen’s associations, post which a final decision will be taken,” said Satish Kunder, president of Malpe fishermen’s association

Rs 1 lakh for families

Sources from the district administration have informed that the Rs 1 lakh compensation for the families of the missing fishermen, which had been announced by the state government, has been released. The amount has been granted for 2 people in Malpe and 5 persons in Uttara Kannada district, they informed.

Crates belonged to ‘Suvarna Tribhuja’

Karwar: “The fishing crates marked “ST”, which were found recently near Malwan in Maharashtra have been confirmed to have belonged to ‘Suvarna Tribhuja’, the missing deep sea trawler,” said S S Nakul, district commissioner of Uttara Kannada