Daijiworld Media Network - Kaup (SP)
Kaup, Jun 16: The Alliance tug which drowned near New Mangalore Port Trust due to cyclone on May 15 this year and reached near the seashore near Padubidri Kadipatna continues to be at the same spot even after a month. Ominous indications are that the tug might remain there for about four more months.
The tug, which had capsized, had been straightened on May 25. The proposal to retain the tug wherever it is, and scrap it, has been stubbornly opposed by the locals. The company, it is learnt, had made arrangements to shift it. The company has been thinking of pulling away the tug to Gujarat or Mangaluru before scrapping it. Spokesman of the Gujarat-based Alliance tug company said that the focus will be more on saving the tug that costs eight to ten crore rupees.
Oil in the tug, which was the main obstacle for shifting the tug, has already been removed by the Mohammed Qalandar team from Mangaluru. Bilal Moideen team of Mangaluru Badriya company has been visiting Kadipatna every day to remove sand and seawater accumulated in the tug. Bilal says that once the clearance certificate is procured, his team will take the tug to Mangaluru or Gujarat.
Because of the force of the rain and sea, the tug has moved closer to the seashore. Whether the tug will be able to bear the force of the sea waves and wind in the coming months is a million dollar question and retaining the tug in its current state is very important. Experienced fishermen feel that even though the team has secured the tug at a place, it might move towards the east due to the waves. The fishermen who say that the tug is blocking traditional fishing met at Sri Vishnu Bhajana Mandir and decided to talk to the tug owners. For this purpose, they have formed a committee.
The spokesman of the company, Shaukat Sandhi, is here from May 17 to handle the tug issue. He said that the tug clearance is delayed as the mercantile marine department permission has not yet come. He said that the department has informed that they will be able to issue no objection letter only after the end of the monsoon season. He, therefore, explained that efforts to retain the tug at Kadipatna till the end of the monsoon season would be made.