Latin Catholic Church urges Kerala govt to fast-track relief for fishers ahead of ‘rough season’

Key points

• The leadership of the Latin Catholic Church has reportedly urged the UDF-led Kerala government to expedite welfare measures to help the coastal fishing community tide over the loss of livelihood during the southwest monsoon season.
• Fr Beed Manoj Amado, the Church spokesperson, told reporters after a closed-door meeting at the Bishop’s House on Friday involving Fisheries Minister and Indian Union Muslim League (IUML) leader V.E.
• Abdul Gafoor and Thiruvananthapuram Archbishop Thomas J Netto that a “rough season” was imminent and the government should fast-track relief measures to alleviate the community’s hardship.
• Fr Amado said the annual trawling ban and rough seas would severely affect the livelihoods of lakhs of fishers in Kerala and that the government had a responsibility to extend support to the community.
• Earlier, Mr. Gafoor told reporters that the government was fully aware of the difficulties, including financial distress, faced by fishers during the season and that...