By Rajesh Kumar Behera
The long wait of the 26 crew members of the ill-fated Mongolian based sunken Ship”MV.Black Rose” , who were stranded at a Paradip based hotel since last 9th September after the Black Rose ship sunken due to technical snag near Paradip port ,to go to their country and to see their family members ended today .As these ill fated crew members of Sunken Ship Black Rose were repatriated to their countries on Tuesday afternoon by the port authority following the Director General of Shipping ,Mumbai gave green signal for repatriations to the Paradip Port Authority on Monday .As a result the Immigration authority , local police and Port authority later permitted these hapless stranded crew members of Black Rose to go to their native land .
According to Santanu Dash , the SDPO of Paradep , out of the 26 crew members ,who on Tuesday started their homeward jounrney ,17 were Bangladeshis three Russians and six Ukrainians and have been put up at the Aristocrat hotel in Paradip after they were rescued from the sunken ship on 9th September.
Notably, the crew members earlier sought the help of the Bangladesh High commission, Ukraine embassy and Russia embassy in New Delhi to leave the port town Paradip for their countries. They earlier also threatened to go for hunger strike if they would not permitted to go to their country.
The Sea Trans Maritime , the agent of the sunken ship, made all the arrangements for the stranded crew members at to reach at the Bhubaneswar –based Biju Pattnaik Airport .On Tuesday at about 12 pm , all the stranded crew members were boarded on a bus and started their journey towards Bhubaneswar airport .A police team escorted the crew members in order to see off them at Bhubaneswar air port ,added Santuanu Dash.
Their joys know no bound and joyous tear were rolling on their eyes when they were boarded in the vehicle as they are sure that finally their bad days are over and they are going to be freed from the alien land and would able to see their near and dear one within some days, said a senior police officials
On Monday when we came to know that we a re going to be set free on Tuesday , I told my wife over telephone that I will reach home in Chittaganj on Thursday. My wife was delighted and she was speechless for some seconds after she came to know that the long ordeal of not seeing him is going to be ended within a day or two , said a delighted Abdul Hussein(40) a cook of the sunken ship .
Repatriation was delayed as the sunken ship anchored in the port by furnishing forged and fabricated insurance papers and other documents. Whereas necessary documents were not with the 26 crew members for repatriating the crew members to their country .for which the crew members were staying in a hotel in Paradip under the watchful eyes of the marine police and port officials,added Dash, the SDPO.
The agent of the ship “Sea Trans Maritime “ arranged the Sea Man’s book and other relevant documents by communicating with the embassies of Bangladesh, Ukraine and Russia as some of the crew members missed in the sea .Later , the Sea Man’s Book and other relevant documents were submitted before the Director General of Shipping .
After examining all documents the Director General of Shipping allowed them to leave from Paradip .
The Bangladeshi crew members are going to be boarded on flight which is scheduled to depart on 8 pm today from Bhubaneswar air port to Kolkota .Later, they will fly to their country from Kolkata ,whereas Russian and Ukraine crew members will fly from New Delhi to their countries as per the scheduled flight time .
Trawler seized and 8 fishermen arrested by forest officials for catching fish illegally inside the prohibited area of Gahirmath Marine Sanctuary The Bhitarkanika forest officials ,on Monday , arrested 8 fishermen and seized a mechanized fishingt vessel from their possession while they were catching fish illegally by entering unlawfully into the prohibited zone under Gahirmatha Marine sanctuary near Ekakaula,said P.K.Behera, the DFO of Bhitarkanika National Park. According to Behera ,While the forest officials were patrolling in the sea coast at Gahirmatha Marine Sanctuary ,they found that ta fishing vessel was catching fish illegally by entering into the prohibited zone of the sanctuary. Later ,the forest officials intercepted the fishing trawler and arrested the fishermen. The arrested fishermen were the residence of Dhamara area and they used to eke out their livelihood by fishing in the Bay of Bengal. On Monday evening , the Bhitarkanika Forest officials produced 8 arrested fishermen under Wildlife Protection Act,1972 before the court of Judicial Magistrate First Class Court of Pattamundai where they were remanded into jail custody after their bail petitions were rejected ,informed DFO of Rajnagar Mangrove Forest and wildlife Division , Prasanna Kumar Behera. Notably, the State Forest Department has imposed ban on fishing around 20 km off the shore from 1st November to 31st May , as to protect the endangered marine turtles, which come en mass for laying eggs at Gahirmatha Marine sanctuary. This is the first seizure of fishing vessels intercepted for unlawful intrusion into water territory prohibited for fishing operation this year after the prohibition imposed on the water of Gahirmatha in Bay of Bengal on last November 1, added DFO . According to official sources, the turtles have either been killed when they are mangled by fishing trawler propellers or suffocated in fishermen’s nets in mechanized fishing vessels during the turtle mating and nesting season. If the Gahirmatha rookery is stated to be the largest rookery it also appears to be the biggest graveyard in recent years .The beaches instead of being beacons of new life have turned into mass graveyard due to illegal fishing by the fishermen ,who come in giant trawlers for catching fish , alleged turtle conservationists. The turtle mortality rate in one year is estimated at more than 10,000 per year. The last decade and a half has seen between 10,000 to 15,000 dead Olive Ridley sea turtles washed ashore every year along the coast of Orissa , largely victims of illegal trawling in near shore waters
