Nine months on, fire ruined Talpona locals yet to get aid

Nine months on, fire ruined Talpona locals yet to get aid
HERALD CORRESPONDENT
CANACONA, JULY 8
Even though nine months have passed since the calamity hit Talpona coast in Canacona taluka and destroyed fishermen’s gears and their houses, the affected residents continue to wait for the promised government help to bring their fishing activities back on track.
It may be recalled that on October 27, last year, fishermen’s fishing gears and residential houses worth Rs 36 lakh were razed in Canacona taluka. Later, Chief Minister Digambar Kamat along with fishery officers and other administrative officers from the taluka visited the area and assured compensation to the affected residents.
Now, piqued at government inaction in delivering the promised compensation, the affected families have decided to resort to hunger strike on Independence Day at Deputy Collector’s office, Canacona, if no compensation is not given to them before August 14.
Out of the 13 affected families who lost their entire fishing gears, including boats, nets, etc, on that fateful day causing loss to the tune of Rs 25 lakh, damages to the tune of another Rs 11.5 lakh were caused to the houses of six fishermen.
The then Canacona mamlatdar Vinayak Volvoikar, area Talathi and police have reportedly conducted the panchanama of the losses and damages caused, while including ration, the taluka administration has paid some amount as immediate relief to the affected people.
“Where is the compensation promised to us, when Chief Minister Digambar Kamat on his own visited our razed area and assured us,” asked Sudhakar Namdev Arondekar and Vishwanath Tukaram Tari, who lost their fishing gears, including boats worth Rs 2.25 lakh.
If the fishing community is to be believed, the affected families were badly affected due to non-extending of government help of assured compensation, which according to them would have helped them to re-build their boats and purchase new fishing nets.
“As per Kamat’s assurance, our expectation was that we will get due compensation to re-build our fishing gears and carry on our fishing activities. But this has not happened and the entire last fishing season was lost,” informed Ganpath Narayan Govekar, who also lost Rs 2.5 lakh worth fishing gear.
“In these circumstances, how are we going to sustain our families consisting of our children and other dependants,” asks Govekar. “The chief minister during his visit had assured us that pending office procedures, Rs 1 lakh each would be disbursed to us from the Chief Minister’s Relief Fund, but even that has failed to reach us,” added Govekar.
Incidentally, sources informed that what Kamat assured when he toured Talpona fire-razed area along with former minister Isidore Fernandes was that, first let the officials ascertain what best compensation the affected fishermen can get and if that amount works out to less than a lakh, the shortfall will be made-up from the CMs Relief Fund to a respectable Rs 1 lakh.
“We cannot totally compensate the losses suffered by people in the accidental fire,” was the observation reportedly made by Kamat during his visit.
However, the same sources informed that even that has failed to materialize, as no official reports have moved out from Fisheries Department to the authorities concerned to decide on quantum of compensation to the fishermen.
It is learnt through local sources that reports prepared by extension officer (fisheries) at BDO office has already been submitted for expediting at the department level concerned.