Credits: CMO KERALA/ Facebook
New Delhi: During the devastating floods that hit Kerala last year, many fishermen from the state came to the rescue in their boats. They rescued several people who were stranded in their homes which were cut off due to the floods. The fishermen were simple people without any formal training in disaster management or in saving lives. They reached remote areas to provide a helping hand where NDRF and Navy boats could not reach and brought them to safety and even provided food and other essentials.
Their bravery was celebrated everyone and Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan termed them as “Kerala’s own army”.
Now, almost a year after their show of heroic service, the fishermen have officially become a part of the police force. A total of 177 fishermen underwent training in various aspects of policing and , on Saturday, were officially inducted into the Kerala Police in the presence of CM Vijayan.
The newly inducted coastal policemen were given training in survival skills and saving lives in the seas under the Coast Guard, Navy and Fire and Rescue services. The coastal police will also be given the task of safeguarding the state’s coast and watch out for suspicious movements of boats in the sea. The idea of using the defense expertise of the fishermen in the sea was initiated in 2017 first, following Cyclone Ockhi, where they were actively involved in rescue operations. This idea got a further push in 2018 after the community’s rigorous efforts during Kerala’s “flood of the century”.
Over 3000 youth applied for the job, 180 of whom were selected through a rigorous selection process by a panel.
