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On the third anniversary of the 26/11 attacks, family members of the four missing fishermen abroad Kuber, the boat hijacked by terrorists, have requested the Maharashtra chief minister to provide financial assistance to them.
The Gujarat Fishermen Association has demanded aid to the kin of the fishermen, saying it had raised the demand soon after the attack and had even requested the then chief minister Ashok Chavan to consider their pleas on sympathetic grounds on the first anniversary of the terror strikes.
The four missing fishermen were identified as Ramesh Nagji from Simasi village in Junagadh, Balwant Prabhu, Mukesh Rathod and Nathu Nanu from Vasi Borsi village of Navsari.
"Why has the Maharashtra government been hesitating in providing financial assistance to us? It has become difficult for us to support the family comprising my three young sisters, mother and grand parents, as my father was the sole bread winner of the family," said Bhavesh Bamaniya, son of Ramesh Bamaniya, one of the missing fisherman.
Similar views were expressed by the family members of three other sailors. "Till today, nobody from the government has approached us to find out how we live," said Mukesh Rathod's wife Damyanti.
GFA vice president Veljibhai Masani said, "If the Maharashtra government could show a human gesture by compensating the family of Amarsinh Solanki, the captain of the ill-fated boat, with Rs 5 lakh then why can't the same gesture be extended to the kin of the four other missing fishermen?"
Masani said there was no doubt that all the crew members of Kuber were killed by his aides.
The fishing trawler was found abandoned at the sea coast with the beheaded body of Amarsinh Solanki on November 26, 2008, Masani said.
"If the Maharashtra government could award a compensation of Rs 5 lakh each to the kin of the all terror victims, including foreigners, then why are the family members of the missing fishermen deprived of it," he added.