People’s Rights Protection Centre (PRPC), a Madurai-based non-governmental organisation working on human rights-related issues, has demanded setting up of an enquiry commission under a serving judge of the Madras High Court to probe the alleged negligence of State and Central governments in handling Cyclone Ockhi disaster in Kanniyakumari district recently. Releasing a fact-finding report prepared by the organisation here on Sunday, its State coordinator S. Vanjinathan said their investigation had revealed gross negligence on the part of the State machinery in issuing necessary warnings prior to the cyclone and carrying out rescue and rehabilitation measures after the cyclone devastation. Stating that the disaster resulted in loss of lives of hundreds of fishermen in Kanniyakumari district, which could have been avoided if both the State and Central governments acted promptly, he said there was a necessity to fix accountability. Mr. Vanjinathan said fishermen deaths must be treated as deaths due to negligence and cases must be filed against the authorities concerned under Section 304 A of the Indian Penal Code and provisions of the Disaster Management Act, 2005. The names must even include the Prime Minister, Chief Minister and the Collector, who are the authorities responsible for disaster management committees at the Centre, State and district levels respectively, he said. Alleging that the State and Central governments failed to issue specific warnings even to the fishermen, who ventured into the sea a day before the cyclone, Mr. Vanjinathan said the government also did not have any mechanisms to communicate about the cyclone to those fishermen who were already in the sea. In this era of high-end communication, it is a shame that we do not have an easy mechanism to communicate with the fishermen fishing in the deep sea. Hence, the government must fulfil the long-pending demand of the fishermen to provide them satellite phones, he said. The PRPC, in its report, also stressed the need for revisiting the mechanisms adopted for mid-sea rescue efforts and involving fishermen in rescue teams. The NGO also demanded expeditious sanction of compensation to the bereaved families of the fishermen and grant of adequate compensation for the damage to crops caused by the cyclone by considering the long-term loss of income to farmers.