KARWAR: “We are poor and we cannot fight for justice due to poverty. I don’t know what happened to my son while fishing in the deep sea. There is no option left for us, but accept what the Navy says,” said Ishwar Harikantra, father of Satish who went missing along with six others in a fishing vessel four months ago. The wreckage of the vessel was found by the Indian Navy on Thursday.
After hearing the news of the wreckage being found, the family members of the five missing fishermen from Uttara Kannada are worried. Ishwar Harikantra of Madangeri in Kumta taluk said his family members are still not ready to accept that fact that the fishermen have not returned. They hope that they will come back home soon.
Govind Harikantra, brother of Lakshman Harikantra from Kumta who went missing, said: “My family members are worried after hearing the news. My brother’s children are praying for a safe return of their father.”
INS Nireekshak, which went in search of the missing boat on Sunday along with Udupi MLA Raghupati Bhat and a few fishermen, found the wreckage of Suvarna Tribhuja on Wednesday and confirmed its identity on Thursday.
But the same was not informed by the Navy, police, district administration or elected representatives in Uttara Kannada.
When asked, families of the missing fishermen said they have not got any information from government agencies so far. They saw the news and are worried about their dear ones. No MLA visited their homes in the district, they said.
The families have been living in a state of anxiety ever since the boat went missing in December 2018 after it left Malpe harbour in Udupi for fishing. The mobile phones of all the seven fishermen could not be reached, creating a fear among family members. Many search parties had been sent, but there had been no trace of the boat for more than four months, till the wreckage was found.