THE COVAI POST IMPACT

Actor and music director G.V.Prakash has adopted a Kanyakumari fisher family which has lost all its male members to the sea in the aftermath of cyclone Ockhi.

The Covai Post had on December 11 shed light on the plight of the fisher family of Chinnathurai. Selvarani (50) lost her husband Remmyas and her son-in-law Antony in October last when they set sail from Kochi for fishing. Their boat was hit by a vessel. Antony’s body was found, but Remmyas death could not be ascertained as he went missing.

Then she lost her only son Rakesh and another son-in-law Anto Jain to Ockhi. Both of them are still missing. The family today is left with four women of whom one Rebisha is unmarried, another Remsha is widowed and the other two, Selvarani and Ramya, are praying for the return of their husbands. Ramya has 3 children – two sons aged 9 and 5 and a daughter aged 3, and Remsha is a mother of 2 little sons – nine-month-old and 3-year-old.

With five children and no male member to support, the four women, who have been confined to home so long, see no means to earn their livelihood and sustain their family.

But the news that comes as a solace to them is that G.V.Prakash has decided to bear the educational expenses of their children. “He visited us a few days ago and shared our grief. The next day he sent two of his friends and collected all details about our kids and how much we spend for their education. They told us that G.V.Prakash was willing to bear the expenses,” Ramya told The Covai Post.

Prakash had put out a statement on Twitter about his visit to Ockhi-affected Kanyakumari district and also made a mention of the four women who are at their wit’s end as they have lost all the male bread-winners in the family. “Though the women do not seek any help, they need some aid,” he said, calling upon the youth to take up the responsibility of supporting such women in distress.

Asked about G.V.Prakash’s decision to adopt Selvarani’s family, his mother and acclaimed music composer A.R.Rahman’s sister A.R.Reihana told The Covai Post, “Yes, he has confirmed that he has adopted the family, but does not want to give an interview on that.”