Mumbai: The Bombay High Court on Wednesday directed
the Central as well as State governments to get information
regarding status of rescue operations off the Maharashtra
coast which was hit by cyclone "Fayan" early this month.
Saying that this was a very important matter, a division
bench of Justices J N Patel and Amjed Sayed scheduled the
next hearing for tomorrow.
A public interest litigation (PIL) has alleged that
several fishermen from the coastal Ratnagiri district are
still missing, but rescue operations were called off within
four-five days after the cyclone struck.
The petition also states that some fishermen are likely
stranded on the high seas after surviving the cyclone, as
their boats would not have any fuel left for the return
journey.
Seeking the information in this regard tomorrow, the
court said that Coast Guard and State machinery "need not wait
for court orders" to take up rescue operations anew.
"When some important person goes missing, you activate
all forces," the court remarked.
PTI
