Visakhapatnam, July 14 (IANS) Former Chief Minister and YSR Congress Party President Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy has squarely blamed negligence of Andhra Pradesh’s coalition government led by Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu for the death of six fishermen and demanded compensation of Rs 1 crore each for the affected families.

 

Speaking to the media here on Tuesday after consoling the families of the deceased and interacting with the lone survivor of the tragedy, Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy said that the boat carrying seven fishermen who went into the sea for fishing capsized just 10 miles away from Gangavaram Port and not a single official responded despite repeated pleas from the affected families.

 

After the capsize, the lone survivor, Chinna, swam to safety and was rescued by a Chinese boat. The family members repeatedly called and sent SOS messages to the Collector and other officials, but there was no response. Had there been one, the other fishermen could have been rescued. All seven persons had set sail, but only one returned with great difficulty, and the government did not respond in the way it should have, he said.

 

The former CM stated that as the blame lies entirely with the government, it should take responsibility and pay Rs 1 crore each to all the affected families. He also said that if the coalition government fails to pay Rs 1 crore compensation, YSR Congress will fulfil the promise when it comes back to power.

 

He claimed that messages were sent to the Collector and the police, but help was not forthcoming. The city has the Coast Guard and is the headquarters of the Eastern Naval Command. Despite such resources, the government failed to respond in time, which could have rescued the others as well.

 

“The cruel part of the incident is that from the Chief Minister to the Cabinet ministers handling the Fisheries and Disaster Management portfolios, none of them even visited the affected families till now and instead washed their hands of the matter by paying compensation of Rs 10 lakh to each family,” he said.

 

Jagan recalled that the YSRCP government negotiated and brought back fishermen jailed in Pakistan and Bangladesh by taking up the matter with the Centre.

 

The Chandrababu government has a very callous approach, and its sheer negligence is evident from the poor response and complete lack of guilt. It has simply washed its hands of the issue by appointing a three-member committee, which reported that the information was received on July 5 at 5:00 a.m., while the call records and messages of the deceased fishermen's family members show that they sent SOS messages on the night of July 4.

 

Meanwhile, K.K. Raju, YSRCP Visakhapatnam district president, said that Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy has announced financial assistance of Rs 7 lakh each to the families of the deceased fishermen and to Chinna, the lone survivor of the incident.