Prime Minister Narendra Modi has declared a compensation of Rs 2 lakh from the Prime Minister’s National Relief Fund for the families of nine fishermen who lost their lives after a fishing trawler, previously missing, was found in the Bay of Bengal near the Sundarbans in West Bengal’s South 24 Parganas district. The tragic incident involved the capsizing of a boat in the region, leading to the recovery of the deceased fishermen. Additionally, an amount of Rs 50,000 will be provided to the injured individuals.
Authorities, including personnel from the police, Forest Department, and Indian Coast Guard, located the sunken trawler in the Raktachar area near the Chulkathi forest. The vessel was retrieved and brought to the Sitarampur area under the Gobardhanpur Police Station’s jurisdiction, where the bodies of the nine fishermen were discovered. Unfortunately, six other fishermen who were on board remain missing.
The fishing trawler, named ‘FB Maa Kali’, had departed from the Shankarpur Fisheries Port with 15 fishermen on board. After losing communication with the vessel on July 5 due to adverse weather conditions, a joint search operation involving various authorities and organizations was initiated. The bodies of the deceased have been sent for post-mortem examination, and a fresh search operation has been launched to find the missing fishermen, with concerns that the death toll may increase.
Minister of State for Sundarban Affairs Dipankar Jana visited the trawler post-recovery and oversaw the search efforts. Discussions are ongoing with the state government regarding further administrative actions in response to the incident. The overturned trawler was discovered near the Chulkathi forest and towed to Sitarampur Ghat, with the bodies found during the subsequent search operation.
