An action committee comprising fishermen and fishing boat owners on Thursday sought the immediate intervention of the Fisheries department in Kozhikode to set up a quickly accessible disaster response unit which could swing into action during emergency situations. They raised the demand citing the disrupted marine ambulance service near the Beypore fishing harbour.

The action committee leaders, who recently spearheaded a protest in front of the Fisheries department office at Beypore, complained that the Karunya marine ambulance, which was commissioned in January 2021 spending over ₹6 crore to coordinate sea rescue operations, had been out of service due to fitness issues. No alternative arrangements were made to address fishers’ safety concerns, they alleged.