Incidentally, there are rumours that it was not on any principle that Karunanidhi did not participate in the cabinet expansion. K. Narayanaswamy, a minister in the PMO, was dispatched to Karunanidhi twice to persuade him to allocate his MPs. The real reason was that his wish to see daughter Kanimozhi as a union minister was turned down. It’s no secret that he wants to see her as a minister, but PM Manmohan Singh would rather not face the nightmare of having a 2G accused—Kanimozhi was released last November after six months in Tihar as an accused in the CBI case—in his cabinet.
Unanswered Questions
Uncertainty dogs the salvage operations of Pratibha Cauvery because the plea by a deceased sailor Anand Mohandoss's brother is still pending in the high court. An interim order on the petition for payment of Rs 25 lakh by the brother, Sankara Narayanan, led to the vessel being detained. In its latest order, the high court has ordered that the stricken ship should not be moved from its territorial jurisdiction unless the owner deposits Rs six crore.
The sailors had been abandoned by the owners for over a month after they discharged cargo last month. That is why the sailors, after their plea to the Navy and Coast Guard went unheard, were desperate enough to escape Cyclone Nilam and climbed onto a life boat that capsized, in which 6 of the 22 died.
But the good news is that the four fishermen, who braved the choppy seas to rescue the sailors floating after their lifeboat capsized have been rewarded by CM Jayalalitha. Saying that she appreciated “the bravery of these fishermen and another one who lent his boat for the rescue operation,” she announced a reward of Rs one lakh each.
There are unanswered questions after the tragedy: Was the captain, Carl Fernandes, right to tell his crew to abandon ship when, as has been proved in the case of the 15 who remained aboard and were rescued, it would have been safer to stay put? If fishermen could brave the choppy waters and rescue the sailors why not the navy or the Coast Guard?
Sailors’ Plight
Chennai’s waters seem to have become a morgue for ships, albeit for different reasons. At least 12 ships were abandoned by their owners last year in the sea off Chennai.
Last year after cyclone Thane led to OSM Arena (a Korean vessel) going adrift after it lost one of its anchors on December 30, the vessel was pushed to shore. The Calcutta high court “arrested” it as a fight broke out about the dues it owed.
The collateral damage in this episode was to the 14 sailors on board, who ran out of food and water, and were abandoned to their fate by the owners. Only last month, the 14 sailors were allowed to come ashore. Currently, they are being provided medical facilities and other support services by the representatives of International Transport Workers Federation, Seafarers’ Club, Chennai and Sailor Helpline.