Malpe: Moored fishing vessels found drifting away; saved by small boat

Malpe: Two deep-sea fishing vessels moored at Malpe harbor washed away by the current were saved by the timely action of a few small boats on Friday.

Two deep-sea boats named Srilakshmi and Hanuma Pushpa were saved by Meghraj and others. The two boats were moored near the fishing jetty on the western side of the harbor due to the Monsoon fishing ban.

At around 5.30 am, a person saw the boats adrift in the river channel near the bridge and called up Meghraj, who had just unloaded the fish from the Hanuma Pushpa boat. The boats had been adrift by about 500 meters from the jetty.

Meghraj, who was at the port, immediately rushed to the boat with the help of Sandesh and Naveen, and brought them back to the jetty, thus averting a potential tragedy.

The incident is being blamed on irresponsible actions by the crew of another boat. It is alleged that the crew of another boat moored near the two vessels cut off the mooring ropes of the two vessels in a hurry.

Meanwhile, fishermen have been complaining about insufficient docking facilities at the Malpe port. There are more than two and a half thousand boats moored at Malpe harbor and there is not enough space in the harbor to anchor all of them during the rainy season.

Most of the boats are stationed in 10-12 rows close to each other outside the harbor, without much protection. This also increases the risk of potential tragedy and mishaps. The crew boat boats could inadvertently cut the ropes used to secure the boats together.

Boat owner Ramesh Tingalaya expressed his regret that till now no government has provided a permanent solution to the fishermen plight.