Kerala coast is turning hell for fishermen

Fishermen in Kerala are increasingly being tormented by troubles leading to loss of lives. A fortnight ago, two fishermen were shot dead by two Italian marines while they were fishing in the economic zone.

Today two fishermen were killed and other three were missing as a merchant vessel collided with the fishing boat which was remaining in anchor. Two persons were rescued by other boat people.

Paradoxically, one of the deceased, Jestin was the first person who had informed the police about the killing of two fishermen earlier by Italian Navy men.

One may not be able to put these incidents together. But in today’s case the merchant vessel, which has not been identified, was comparatively close to the shores. They have no business to be sailing along so close the shores, in the Indian waters.
All these points have to be probed very well. But how will the authorities ensure safety for the fishermen who venture out into the sea for fishing and fetch a livelihood for their family members?

India has grown well in putting communication equipment together and guarding the shores. Even small incidents which are detrimental to the fishermen and their livelihood should be investigated and remedial measures taken.

This by-election would be crucial for all

Let us do a little bit of rewinding: Union Home Minister P.Chidambaram had said Mullaperiyar agitation would wither away once Piravom by-election was over. Now it was mentioned in Kerala High Court on behalf of Italian authorities that the case against Italian marines would die down once the by-election is over.

Lately, Daisy Jacob, wife of the late T.M.Jacob and mother of Anoop Jacob, has filed nomination papers as a dummy candidate of Anoop Jacob.

There is abundant precaution about losing out, come what may.

The point is: national and international attention has been grabbed by Piravom and it will sustain till March 21 when the counting would be held, voting being held on March 17.

What is the heck of it all? The thin margin enjoyed by the Oommen Chandy Government of the Congress-led United Democratic Front would go for a near-fall if its candidate fails. If the UDF candidate gets defeated, the government’s majority would be only by one and it would be precarious trapezing then on.

All the Cabinet Ministers are logging it out at the streets of Piravom to secure votes for Anoop Jacob. Every vote counts.

The Opposition, the CPM-led Left Democratic Front , is also not leaving any stone unturned in campaigning for which there is no group problem, with CPM state secretary Pinarayi Vijayan and Opposition Leader V.S.Achuthanandan doing the rounds. National and state leaders are also pouring in to lend a hand to the electioneering.

Church feuds, SNDP Yogam leader’s move in having an SRP candidate drafted in to carve away a few votes and the like may or may not adversely hit the prospects of the UDF candidate and may nor may not help rival candidate M.J.Jacob of the CPM.

No doubt, this by-election would be crucial for all

Interlinking of rivers should be a mega project and should not ultimately end up with linking Pamba-Achenkovil and Vaipar

Now the Supreme Court has given the green signal to interlink big rivers in the country to facilitate irrigation, generation of power etc.

The issue has been hanging fire for a long time, with even the Supreme Court earlier not amenable to giving the approval. There were many points for and against, the crucial problem being the huge amount required to execute the project.

In this context, there is a possibility that Tamil Nadu would use its clout to have the Pamba-Achenkovil-Vaipar river link at the earliest. Compared to water availability in big rivers like Ganga, Brahmaputra, Mahanadi, Cauvery etc, water availability in rivers in Kerala is meager, even though a sort of scare about floods is created every year during the monsoons.

Definitely there was a failure on the part of Kerala over a period of years to collect the flow of water during the monsoons and store it for better use later. That should not be construed as availability of excess water.

Let the Himalayan rivers and others like Cauvery which have plenty of water be linked first. Then only one should think about tinkering with Pamba, Achenkovil and Vaipar.
Ultimately, the mega project should not whittle down to Pamba, Achenkovil and Vaipar, in the guise of interlinking of rivers.

Cardinal George Alencherry has done the right thing by clarifying his position about attack on fishermen

Cardinal George Alencherry had given an interview to Italian news portal Fides and there was misquoting about his position on Italian Navy men killing two Indian fishermen, shooting from the merchant vessel, Enrica Lexie. The news portal released the interview to suit Italian people’s interests.

According to reports, Italian newspapers and media have been giving out one-sided views on the incident to the effect that the Italian marines had shot at pirates and that the fishermen had attacked the ship and the like.

No doubt, they are all arguing and they all want to believe that India has no business to detain the ship and the two marines, for they had done the act in international waters.

The interview with the newly-ordained Cardinal was twisted in such as way that the Cardinal’s standing in Kerala society has been undermined.

Now the Cardinal has clarified that the Italian news portal has issued a rebuttal statement and that they have apologised him for the erroneous reporting.
The cardinal has reiterated that he stands for the rights of the fishermen and that justice should be done to the killing of the two fishermen. Only that in dealing rightly with the issue to get justice there should be no enmity between the two nations.

The erring Navy men should be brought to book and they should meet the ends of justice. No one can run away from a criminal act committed on Indian citizens, particularly this act has resulted in the loss of life of two precious fishermen. The families have lost their sustenance as the head of the family each has been killed no fault of theirs.

All powers of Italy are hell-bent on bailing out their Navy men

Judging from the keenness with which various powerful arms of Italian authorities are protecting the alleged killers of two Indian fishermen, it would be a tedious effort for Kerala police to take measures to keep the duo here.

Initially, the Italian authorities have been successful in keeping Latorre Massimillano and Salvatore Girone, the two Italian marines, to themselves. Which means the three days of police custody means they are in safe custody in guest houses.

The magistrate has granted 14 days custody, initial three days in police custody and the rest in judicial custody.

But the Italian authorities are moving Kerala High Court pleading for cancellation of the first information report filed by Kerala police on the plea that the duo are foreign nationals and the incident occurred outside the coastal authority of the state of Kerala.

There would be hair-splitting arguments about nautical miles, ordinary miles, and about the arms used for firing being Italian Navy’s properties and therefore these cannot be handed over to Kerala police etc.

If the Italian authorities manage to get a favourable order from the High Court they would spirit away their Naval boys.

As of now the captain of the ship from which the firing incident occurred has not been proceeded against.

The question remains as to whether it is a silly matter for anyone possessing guns or arms on a ship on high seas or low seas to shoot down fishing vessels and they can escape on the plea that these were pirates.

Is it that difficult to identify pirates from fishermen on fishing boats?

Nurses are a formidable force in the medical sector, we have all the while been ignoring them

The elephant does not know its strength, so goes the saying. The nurses did not know their strength as yet. But they are consolidating their position now.

Earlier, the managements used to tinker with their fate basically because of the prevailing bond system and confiscation of their certificates. Now the moment it has been dispensed with following the directives from the Indian Nursing Council, the nurses have found a new-found energy to get an erroneous system corrected.

The latest strike was at Fortis Escorts Hospital, Delhi, but the stir has been settled within hours. The collective bargaining was for reinstatement of four nurses who were asked to resign for seeking enhanced wages on behalf of others.

Now when all of them rallied together in the fight, the managements acquiesced within hours.

Be it at Kothamangalam, Painkulam, Lakeshore, Amrita or elsewhere, the situation has been clear. The nurses have been taken advantage of by the managements which have no qualms to pay hefty sum to others, but not the nurses and para-medical staff.

Times have changed, and one must acknowledge the fact that the nursing care sector is the key component without which a hospital cannot be run. You cannot persecute the nurses anymore by paying measly sums. Let them be paid handsomely and let them live a life of honour.

Kerala brimming with paradoxes even as it claims many progressive achievements

Do we have a model to project to the youth regarding their career and future? We often over-emphasise and project a Kerala model which does not have much content.
We won’t pay even a daily wager’s coolie to a professional nurse, we would pay a pittance to school teachers and CBCE school teachers.

The world over retirement age for employees and workers is not 55 years. But we insist employees and workers should go home on superannuation at 55 years of age.
Specialist hospitals which levy hefty amounts from patients do not pay salaries to nursing and other para-medical staff which would take care of their sustenance. The cruelty is that big-time players in the field do not care a bit in this matter.
Names like Yusuf Ali who have claims of doing a lot of service to the society appear to be not interested in paying handsome salaries to nurses. At least don’t threaten the poor angels.

Church-run h ospitals are also only willing to deny decent salaries to nurses.
What about school teachers and teachers working in CBSE schools? Women empowerment leaders who run such schools also do not pay good salary to the teachers.

Kerala’s this model is not attractive. The government should not kowtow to the pressures of such powerful institutions.

Let the Sun shine at midnight through visual media

If the Sun shines at midnight!!! It used to be a wild thought at the hidden actions being undertaken by the mighty . All the evil pervading the environs could be brought to light.

The visual media have partly undertaken the task of the Sun shining at midnight, meaning the media unravels hidden aspects.

What else was there at Karnataka Assembly where the visual media exposed the moble porno- viewing Ministers?

If there were no visuals all of them would have parroted innocence. Now it would be difficult for them to explain things.

What if we had a system under which every action would be available on a visual? Suppose all human beings had a chip installed in the brain from which the actions could be transferred on a visual platform.

What if such visuals would have been available when Shaari of Kiliroor and Anagha of Kaviyoor were persecuted?

Alibis could have been avoided if there were visuals.

We may say the visual media have been transgressing their limits. There may have been some wrong articulations. But the world would have been in the dark ages still, if there were no visual media.

Parents, society have also to take the blame on crimes like Kiliroor and Kaviyoor instances

Kaviyoor case verdict has come, with five of the accused having been found to be guilty. Shaari, the girl who was minor during the time of the atrocities committed against her, had died in suspicious circumstances in hospital.

Five lesser individuals have been convicted, but Shaari’s father says the real culprits in high places remain outside the ambit of trial or conviction.

There were reports that many people in high places had misused the girl who had not got proper treatment in hospitals.

We are concerned with morality and immorality only, but we don’t take congnisance of the fact that there are amoral people in our society. They don’t bother about the moral or immoral aspect of an action. The rightness or otherwise of an act is not bothersome for them.

Very often parents present there girls, maybe some of them had practised a little bit of dancing, to fraudulent people who claim that they are serial film makers. Sometimes, the girls are taken out by close relatives to such dens. After they fall into the trap, there is no coming out.

Very young girls fetch tidy sums from such deals in which the agents fleece them of the maxi mum amount. There are instances where even parents make a fast buck out of flesh trade.

There can be no escape for the trapped girls.
When people in high places are involved, there would be pulls and pressures on the investigating agencies. In the process of vetting of hard evidence, the culprits escape.