Lakshadweep passengers stranded

KOCHI: Thousands of islanders hoping to reach home for Ramzan and Onam are now stranded at the Cochin port as ticket distribution suffered a major setback with three of the six ships rendered non-operational.    The crowd turned violent on Tuesday and the authorities had to call the police to pacify the situation. Islanders crowded in front of the Lakshadweep office complained that the port officials and the Lakshadweep Development Council were not taking any step to tackle the situation. It is a common phenomena every year. During the vacation period, the ships become non-operational, and people have to wait for five to six days to get the ticket, they said.According to deputy director of Lakshadweep office, Muthukoya A, the situation had turned violent as people have to wait in the queue for four days to get the ticket. “The vessel Kavaratti has a technical snag in the engine. The other two vessels Minikoe and Amini cannot be operated as they have not attained fitness certificate yet.“At present, we run Bharath Sema, Lakshadweep and Arabia, which can carry around 800 passengers. Minikoe and Amini will start functioning from August 26. We have written a letter to the port authorities and the repair work of Kavaratti will begin soon,” Muthukoya said.Muhammad Rafique, a cancer patient who arrived at Thiruvananthapuram last week for medical checkup, has been waiting for the last four days to get the return ticket. “There is a separate quota for patients but that too had filled a week ago. “Most of the people, including women and children, are camping in front of the office as hotels and lodges are unaffordable for most” he said.The situation worsened as the students are also returning home for the Onam vacation. The students complained that the Lakshadweep government has provided 40 per cent reduction for tickets during the vacation period but the authorities have not started giving any reduction. “There are over 3,000 students here. The authorities have not started issuing the seats in the students quota. So we have to apply for the general quota that too is not available now,” Asif Khan, a Cusat student said.