Jagan Mohan Reddy to meet families of six missing fishermen in Vizag

Visakhapatnam, July 12 (IANS) Former Chief Minister and YSR Congress Party (YSRCP) President Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy will visit Visakhapatnam on July 14 to console the families of the six fishermen who went missing in the recent boat accident off the Visakhapatnam coast.

YSRCP Visakhapatnam District President K.K. Raju announced on Sunday that Jagan Mohan Reddy will arrive at Visakhapatnam Airport at 10:30 a.m. and will directly visit the houses of the missing fishermen at Jabbarpet in Visakhapatnam South Assembly constituency.

He will also meet Kari Chinna, the lone survivor of the accident, along with his family members.

K.K. Raju criticised the state government for its failure to respond effectively to the tragedy.

He said the accident occurred just eight nautical miles from the shore, yet it took nearly 20 hours for the rescue teams to reach the spot despite the availability of advanced technology.

He blamed the lack of coordination among the Coast Guard, Navy, Marine Police, Fisheries Department and Revenue Department for the disappearance of the six fishermen.

He also questioned the state government’s decision to stop the rescue operation before the missing fishermen were traced.

He expressed disappointment that Home Minister V. Anitha, who represents the united Visakhapatnam district, has not visited the victims.

He also criticised the Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu, Deputy Chief Minister Pawan Kalyan, IT Minister Nara Lokesh and Agriculture Minister K. Atchannaidu for remaining silent on the tragedy.

He accused the state government of falsely claiming credit for rescuing Kari Chinna and alleged that Ministers distributed compensation cheques without listening to the concerns of the affected families.

A mechanised fishing vessel, carrying seven fisherfolk, capsized just 10 nautical miles off the Gangavaram coast in Visakhapatnam on July 4. Six of the seven fishermen who went into the sea for the catch presumed to be dead.

The fishermen had set off for fishing on July 1. The boat capsized while they were returning to the coast. One of them was rescued by the crew of a merchant vessel, and he was brought to the coast on July 6.

The fishermen remained untraced after a four-day-long search and rescue operation by the Indian Navy and Coast Guard. The search operation was called off on July 8.

The state government distributed an ex-gratia of Rs 10 lakh each to the families of the six fishermen.

–IANS

ms/khz