Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman visited the houses of two fishermen from Malpe, who were among the seven onboard a fishing boat, which went missing off Goa coast on December 15, 2018, here on Tuesday.
The fishing boat ‘Suvarna Tribhuja’, with seven fishermen onboard — two from Malpe and five from Uttara Kannada district — had left for fishing from the Malpe Fisheries Harbour on December 13, 2018. It went missing off Goa coast on December 15. All efforts to trace it by the Navy have yielded no results so far.
Ms. Sitharaman visited the house of the missing captain and owner of the boat, Chandrashekhar Kotian, 40, at Badanidiyur here. Mr. Kotian’s wife, Shyamala Kotian, wept and was inconsolable. Ms. Sitharaman tried to console her. Shobha Karandlaje, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) candidate for Udupi-Chikkamagaluru seat who spoke on behalf of Ms. Sitharaman, said that all efforts were being made to trace to the seven missing fishermen.
Ms. Sitharaman then visited the house of another missing fisherman, Damodar Salian. She consoled both Mr. Salian’s father, Suvarna Thingalaya, and mother, Sita Salian. The parents listened to the assurances by Ms. Sitharaman that all efforts were being made to trace the fishermen.
Finally, Mr. Thingalaya said, “We only want our son to return. I and my family members are waiting for him. I just want to see him. Please find him and get him here. We cannot do anything for him. Only you have the power to do something in this matter. I have nothing more to say.”
Ms. Karandlaje, who spoke on behalf of Ms. Sitharaman, said Ms. Sitharaman had held a meeting with the leaders of the Malpe fishermen community here, earlier in the day. She had agreed to all suggestions put forth by the fishermen. The Navy personnel were ready to go to any spot where the fishermen wanted them to search for the missing boat, she said.
“Since the model code of conduct was in force, it is not possible to speak more on this issue. The members of the fishermen community could come and meet officers of the navy (in Delhi) separately, if they wished,” Ms. Karandlaje said.
K. Raghupati Bhat and Lalaji Mendon, MLAs, and Satish Kunder, president of Malpe Fishermen’s Association, were present.