Over 580 fishermen rescued off Kerala and Lakshadweep coasts
trivandrum — As many as 588 fishermen, stranded in the choppy waters off the Kerala and the Lakshadweep coasts due to Cyclone Ockhi, have been rescued, Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan said on Saturday.
So far 450 fishermen from Kerala have been rescued, Vijayan said, as the state government announced a compensation of Rs1 million to the family of those who died in the storm.
Of the rescued, 132 fishermen were from the state capital Trivandrum, 66 from Kozhikode, 55 from Kollam, 40 from Thrissur, and 100 from Kanyakumari, Vijayan told reporters.
Besides, 138 fishermen have been rescued from the Lakshadweep islands, he said.
Vijayan said the Rs1 million compensation would be in addition to the financial assistance of Rs400,000 being given by the fisheries department.
Assistance will also be provided to those who had lost their boat and equipment, he added.
In Lakshadweep, 31 relief camps have been opened in the 10 inhabited islands. So far, 1,047 people have been evacuated to the relief camps, official sources said.
No casualties have been reported, with the worst-affected islands being Minicoy and Kalpeni.
Seven people have lost their lives in Kerala in rain-related incidents over the past two days, official sources said. The bodies of four Kerala fishermen were recovered on Saturday. The state announced to the family of Keralites who died government has opened 29 relief camps in various places.
At least 26 people have been killed in Indian and Sri Lanka. Cyclone Ockhi has left 13 people dead in Sri Lanka and killed an equal number in India’s Kerala and Tamil Nadu states since Friday as it churns in the Arabian Sea.
Some fishermen remained missing in the two countries as nearly 9,000 people sought shelter in relief camps.
Scores of localites suffered flooding and cut power and telephone lines as winds of up to 130kph swept the region. Weather experts warned of more heavy rains to come, as the water level rose in several rivers in southern India.
The Indian island of Lakshadweep off the country’s western coast braced for winds of 145kph.
Authorities are on red alert in coastal areas, with five deaths already reported in Kanyakumari in Tamil Nadu.
Schools and colleges in parts of southern states have been shut as authorities try to restore nearly 4,000 snapped power lines.
The Kerala state emergency department said nearly 3,200 people were in relief camps.
The Lankan disaster management centre said 77,000 people in 16 districts have been affected, with the highest number in the southern Galle district. Nearly 4,000 people are in Lankan relief camps amid widespread destruction of property. — PTI, IANS, AFP