Marine ambulance, a crucial demand from the fishermen community to streamline rescue operations during rough weather, is unlikely to take off this season thanks to alleged apathy on the part of the Fisheries Department.
According to leaders of fishermen’s organisations, the department is finding it hard to provide even temporary service by hiring speedboats and medical staff.
Though there are over 30,000 active fishers and five harbours in Kozhikode district, there is not even a single private speedboat ready for use during a medical emergency. In such situations, fishermen take up rescue activities using mechanised boats and available medicines. The delay in introducing a better wireless communication system in the city to connect with rescue squads too worsens their plight.
Though the Fisheries Department claims that it is ready to launch three marine ambulance services using customised speedboats by the end of this year covering south, central and north Kerala regions under a corporate social responsibility scheme, the fishermen community fears that such boats with limited facilities will not be able to attend to more than two persons in a crisis. The only benefit, they say, is that the government gets the boats, each costing approximately ₹6 crore, for free.
“What we seek is a permanent arrangement in the sector with trained staff in emergency medicine. Even a locally hired speedboat with rescue operators as a temporary arrangement will not serve the purpose,” says K. Rajan, vice president of the Kerala Matsya Thozhilali Congress. He also points out that the marine ambulance service should also have the support of trained fishers for better operation.
N.P. Irfan Habeeb, a fishermen’s organisation leader, says the crisis in the sector can be addressed only by appointing seasoned hands from the Fisheries Department. “We feel that no officer in the department is competent enough to manage deep sea rescue operations. They should be at least trained in managing the crisis,” he demands.
Emergency action plan
Leaders of fishermen’s organisations also claim that the proposed marine ambulance will be of no help to fishermen community if they are operated within a 12-nautical-mile limit complying with the existing regulations. An effective emergency action plan with the support of the Navy, Coast Guard, and other forces should be considered to overcome such issues, they add.
Meanwhile, Fisheries Department officials claim that the concerns in the sector will be addressed soon as they are planning to submit a new proposal to the district administration with inputs from fishermen’s associations and departments on the need to launch a marine ambulance service for the Kozhikode coast. It will be submitted within a week and a favourable action is expected, they say.