[Reader-list] Concern over order to limit role of Marine Enforcement

[T Peter]

 NATIONAL » KERALA
 Concern over order to limit role of Marine Enforcement

Printable version | Sep 5, 2011 7:42:09 PM |
http://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-national/tp-kerala/article2425507.ece

Special Correspondent

The fisherfolk in the State are concerned over the government decision
to curtail the operations of the Marine Enforcement wing and hand over
its role to the Coastal Police.

In an order issued on August 26, the Home Department said the creation
of coastal police stations had obviated the requirement for a Marine
Enforcement wing under the Fisheries Department. Pointing out that the
duties assigned to the Marine Enforcement were actually confined to
the 45 days when the trawling ban was in force, the order said a
full-fledged wing was not necessary.

The order sanctioned the merger of the Marine Enforcement wing with
the coastal police stations.

The Kerala Swathantra Matsya Thozhilali Federation (KSMTF) has
expressed strong protest over the decision to dilute the role of the
Marine Enforcement division. Federation State president T. Peter said
the new arrangement would affect the rescue of fishermen stranded at
sea.

“The Kerala Marine Enforcement wing was set up in 1984 to prevent
unauthorised operation of trawlers in coastal waters, and rescue
fishermen stranded at sea. The government decision to dilute the role
of the division is ill-advised and unwarranted.”

Mr. Peter said the Coastal Police was ill-equipped to take up rescue
operations, a role that demanded skill and resources. “Many of the
policemen deployed on the high-speed vessels are not swimmers, and are
known to develop sea sickness on long hauls, especially during rough
weather.”

The fisherfolk are also apprehensive about the jurisdictional
complications involved in relaying a distress message to the Coastal
Police. “A fisherman setting out to sea from Vizhinjam could be
stranded somewhere off the Alappuzha coast. Earlier, all we had to do
was inform the Marine Enforcement SP to get a coordinated rescue
operation launched in the shortest time. Now, we fear that
jurisdictional limits would require us to alert multiple stations,
delaying the rescue,” he said.

“While we could work in close coordination with the Marine
Enforcement, we fear the police would not be as willing to utilise our
services,” he said. The federation urged the government to repeal the
order and restore the functioning of the wing with an enlarged role.
It has also proposed a complementary role for the coastal police.

The federation is planning to launch a State-wide agitation on
September 15 to highlight various demands, including an enhanced quota
of kerosene and inclusion of all fishworkers in the below poverty line
list.