MANGALORE: After facing criticism on refusing the fishermen in distress to enter the port, New Mangalore Port Trust (NMPT) chairman P Tamilvanan on Monday said that no fisherman had sought the help of the NMPT and there was no question of refusal of entry to the port.Followed by the death of the six fishermen and allegations surfaced against the NMPT’s negligence on refusing to allow the fishermen in distress with the boat to enter the NMPT premises, he said the allegations are wrong. “Such an incident of refusal of permission did not occur at the NMPT. Moreover, none of the fishermen sought permission to enter the NMPT,” he added.He also said that high security enquiries have been made at the port by the CISF, but no such incident occurred at the NMPT. Commenting on the District Minister Krishna J Palemar’s statement that there was a need for a CBI inquiry on the tragedy, Tamilvanan said: “We are ready for any inquiry and we will cooperate.”Coastguard commandant Rajendra Singh Sapal said that the fishermen were not using a single life jacket or any of the modern equipments provided by the coast guard. The fishermen community has been trained to face distress in several community interaction meetings, he said, adding that he had received a call from fishermen in the wee hours, but there was no clarity of location.Among the six missing fishermen, dead body of a fisherman Abdul Rahiman of Panjimogaru was found on Saturday. Only one fisherman Vincent PT, was rescued in the incident among the seven fishermen of trawl boat- Ocean Fisheries.
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