11 TN fishermen in missing fishing boat safe, being brought back to Kanyakumari: Coast Guard
Kochi: Eleven Tamil Nadu fishermen who went missing after their boat was allegedly hit by a ship off the Oman coast last week are safe and they are being brought to Kanyakumari, the Indian Coast Guard said on Thursday.
"@IndiaCoastGuard ship Vikram escorting fishing boat Mercedes with 11 crew about 25 NM from Suheli Par #Lakshadweep. Ship alongwith FB likely to arrive at Thengapattanam harbour #Kanyakumari #TamilNadu on 01 May", the Coast Guard said in a tweet on Thursday.
In a tweet on Wednesday afternoon, the Coast Guard said in a sea-air coordinated operation ICG Dornier located and established communication with the missing Indian fishing boat Mercedes 200 NM NW of #Minicoy.
"All 11 crew safe. FB reportedly missing since 24 Apr & search by #ICG and IN ships & aircraft was in progress," it had said.
The South Asian Fishermen Fraternity (SAFF) said the owner of the fishing boat, Joseph Franklin, had spoken to his wife over satellite phone Wednesday morning.
Based on the information provided by her, the Coast Guard carried out searches and managed to locate them. SAFF general secretary Fr Churchil said the cabin of their boat had gone off following an accident in the sea.
One of the tiny boats attached to the fishing vessel was also damaged in the accident.
"Since the system of the boat was OK in its basement, they managed to sail back. But they could not communicate with anybody because their communication system was not functioning," he told P T I.
Churchil said the satellite phone started working after five days after the accident and it helped Franklin contact his wife.
The incident came to light on April 24 after their friends in a companion boat found the parts of mangled remains of the fishing boat around 600 nautical miles (over 1,100 kms) off the Goa coast.
The Coast Guard immediately rushed a ship from Mumbai on Saturday evening for carrying out rescue operations following a missing complaint received from fishermen organisations.
South Asian Fishermen Fraternity (SAFF) said 11 fisherfolk from Kanyakumari district in Tamil Nadu had ventured into deep sea from Thengapattanam Fisheries Harbour, on April 9 in a mechanised boat.
SAFF had said the fishermen were in touch with other fishermen till Friday noon.
Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.
SP has ended contract with I-PAC due to fund constraints: Akhilesh Yadav
Lucknow (PTI): Samajwadi Party president Akhilesh Yadav on Wednesday said his party has severed its association with the Indian Political Action Committee (I-PAC) due to a lack of funds.
He dismissed speculations that the termination of contract was because of recent election results.
Addressing a press conference here, Yadav said the party had engaged I-PAC for a brief period ahead of the 2027 Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections but could not continue the arrangement.
"Yes, we had an association. They worked with us for a few months, but we are not able to continue because we do not have that kind of funding," he said.
The I-PAC is a political consultancy firm known for managing major election campaigns across the country.
Election strategist-turned-politician Prashant Kishor has also been associated with the organisation in the past and has worked with multiple parties, including the BJP and the Congress.
In a lighter vein, Yadav took a swipe at the ecosystem of political consultancies. "We thought that if we have to work with a 'winning agency', then there are several big companies."
He said that some people suggested conducting surveys, hiring another firm, keeping a social media company, and even engaging agencies for negative campaigning against other parties.
"There are one or two more companies whose names are not yet known. I can get those for you as well," Yadav said.
Yadav rejected the suggestion that the decision to end the deal was influenced by recent election outcomes in states such as West Bengal.
"There is no such thing. Do not ask questions based on baseless reports. That is not true," he said.
"This is not the reason for ending the agreement. We simply do not have enough funds. If you (the media) give us funds, we can hire another company," the former Uttar Pradesh chief minister said.
