Gopalpur: On 10 th October morning around 50 deep sea fishing trawlers of Andhra Pradesh entered the harbor of Gopalpur Port facing rough sea condition on account of severe cyclonic storm “TITLI”.
The Indian Metrological Department, Indian Coast Guard and various state government agencies had issued repeated advisories and specific caution notices for the fishermen not to venture out to sea and fishermen at sea to return back to their respective bases. Despite this, many fishing trawlers in violation
of the same were still undertaking fishing activities till the advent of the cyclonic storm putting their lives and trawlers at risk.
As a result, when the cyclone Titli hit Gopalpur coast on the morning of 11 th October, 50 trawlers and the on board fishermen found themselves stranded. Gopalpur port, as a humanitarian gesture, provided shelter to the 50 fishing vessels and also undertook rescue of the crew members of some of the boats in
close cooperation of District administration, ODRF & Indian Coast Guard. Gopalpur office became the node for the district administration and port authorities for rescue operations that continued through the night of 1oth October till early morning of 10 th October.
The safe shelter provided by the port put the safety of the port at risk with potential damage due to sunken vessels and under construction infrastructure. Nevertheless, the port authorities, under the guidance of District administration, ODRF and Indian Coast Guard, prioritized the life of fishermen.
Crew members of more than half a dozen vessels were rescued and provided shelter. The rescue efforts were jointly carried out by the departments as mentioned above throughout the intervening night of 10 th & 11 th October as a result zero casualties was achieved.
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