Madras HC move ship grounded by Cyclone Nilam out of Chennai

The Madras High Court on Friday asked authorities in the city to move Prathibha Cauvery, a boat grounded by Cyclone Nilam on Chennai’s Elliot’s Beach in Besant Nagar, out of the city immediately. This direction came after a case was filed by Sankara Narayanan, brother of deceased sailor Anand Mohandoss. [caption id=“attachment_513091” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Pratibha Cauvery was allegedly not in the condition to sail. Firstpost[/caption] The Narayanan alleges that the vessel was meant for carrying cargo, but was used for transporting crude oil. The ship was not sea worthy and had no fuel to even anchor. The owners of the ship, allegedly a close relative of Sharad Pawar, had not paid salaries to its employees. The employees were not provided proper food and water. An interim injunction was sought restraining movement of the vessel and a compensation of Rs 25 lakh was sought The vessel Pratibha Cauvery with 37 crew onboard ran aground near Elliott’s Beach in South Chennai, about 200 metres away from the shore. One crew member drowned after a life boat carrying him and his 21 colleagues capsized in choppy waters while 15 others were rescued with the help of several agencies including the Navy and local fishermen on Thursday. One of the rescued members died on Friday at a hospital in Chennai, while bodies of two more crew members were recovered.