Kerala’s fisherfolk 'army' gets valuable rescue lessons from NIWS Goa

Kerala's fisherfolk undergo vital sea rescue training at NIWS Goa, enhancing their skills for disaster response and community safety.

Back in 2018, as Kerala faced unprecedented floods, N.P. Sanal was among the fisherfolk who set aside concerns for their own safety and waded into floodwaters in Kozhikode district to rescue stranded families. Eight years later, he is part of a batch of 34 fishermen about to complete training in sea rescue at the National Institute of Water Sports (NIWS) in Goa.

The conclusion of their training later this month will also mark the culmination of a project initiated by the Kerala government after the 2018 floods to train 900 fish workers from across the State in rescue operations during natural disasters.

"Being able to save a life is a blessing. It was after we took part in resuce efforts during the 2018 floods that the Chief Minister called us fisherfolk as Kerala's army. The government also realised that we have a key role to play during natural disasters. This training provides us a systematic understanding of how to go about rescuing, victims especially during accidents in the sea," Sanal tells The Hindu during a training session on the Caranzalem beach, behind the NIWS campus.

Far out in the sea, two 'victims' are close to drowning. Two rescuers head out towards them with their surfboards crashing against the waves. Once near the victims, they effortlessly flip their boards to place the two on the surface, after which they navigate the board back to the shore. On the shore, other rescuers join them to provide the victims with cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) and first aid, before rushing them to the ambulance. The mock rescues continue as a cycle through the day.

The Kerala Fisheries department is funding the initiative with ₹50,000 spent for each trainee, who gets a daily stipend of ₹700. The trainees were chosen from the fishing community in several phases with an ability to swim 100 m in 3 minutes being the minimum qualification. The current batch is the 24th one.

Navy veteran N. Murugesan, the chief instructor, shares several stories of trainees from the previous batches who have taken part in rescue operations in their localities, from Kasaragod native Babish, who rescued four persons during a boat accident, to another youth who rescued a girl who fell into a river from a bridge in Alappuzha. He says that there are now 900 well-trained rescuers all across Kerala who can make all the difference between life and death during crisis situations.