Image credit : Illustrative Image

Defence Minister Nirmala Sitaraman on Monday said that search and rescue operations will continue till the last fisherman who has gone to the sea is brought back.

Talking to reporters at Thiruvananthapuram after visiting the cyclone hit Vizhinjam and Poonthura, the Minister said there will be no let up in the search operations. “I am hopeful that everyone can be rescued alive,” she said and added that she will discuss the issues arising out of the crisis situation with the Union Home Minister.
The problems prevailing in Kerala in the wake of the cyclone would be discussed with home Minister at New Delhi, she told reporters after visiting Vizhinjam and Poonthura areas.
Nirmala said that instructions have been given to Maharashtra, Karnataka and Goa to provide with all the help for the fishermen who have landed in their coasts. “All steps are being taken to bring them back home,” she added.

Dismissing the allegations that the Centre did not alert the State Government well in advance, the Defence Minister said the IMD had been updating the concerned States periodically. She appealed to the fishermen not to show their anger towards the authorities and Coast Guard personnel, but to support them.

Nirmala was accompanied by State Ministers Kadakamapily Surendran and J. Mercikutty Amma. Tight security was provided for the Union and State Ministers as the crowd had on Sunday turned violent when Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan visited them on Sunday.

Earlier, the Minister held a review meeting at Kovalam in the morning