Kerala govt will take steps to bring back state''s fishermen

The Kerala government will take all necessary steps to bring fishermen from the state stranded in Iran following the coronavirus scare, Fisheries Minister J Mercykutty Amma said on Sunday.

She said the government will collect details of the Keralites trapped in Iran and coordinate with the Indian embassy there through NoRKA (Department of Non-Resident Keralite Affairs).

The minister also said the priority was to provide food and necessary medicines to those stranded there.

"The Indian embassy will be contacted through the Union Ministry of External Affairs. We will ensure that essential materials and food are made available to them soon. I am not sure about evacuating them now as all the flights have been cancelled," Merckutty Amma told reporters here.

A video of the Kerala fishermen seeking help was forwarded to the families of the fishermen and media houses in the state.

One of them is heard saying in the video that they were unable to move out of their rooms due to the restrictions imposed by the Iran government due to the coronavirus scare.

"Like us many people are from India are stranded here. We are short of food. We tried to contact our sponsor. But he asked us to contact the government authorities," the man said.

The fishermen were in Iran, working for a fishing company for last many months.

Most of the Keralites are from Pozhiyur and Vizhinjam areas in Thiruvananthapuram.

The Tamil Nadu government had on Friday taken up with the Centre the issue of over 300 stranded fishermen from the state in Iran and sought steps for their immediate evacuation.

According to Chief Minister K Palaniswami, 450-odd Indians including fishermen from Tamil Nadu were working in various fishing vessels berthed and operating in Iranian ports.