Retired Merchant Navy veterans gather in Kasaragod's Palakkunnu for Seamen's Unity Day
Retired Merchant Navy veterans celebrated Seamen’s Unity Day at Palakkunnu, honouring members over seventy-five. Organised by the Kottikulam club, the reunion mixed nostalgic sea tales with demands for neglected government welfare pensions.
Retired Merchant Navy veterans celebrated Seamen’s Unity Day at Palakkunnu, honouring members over seventy-five. Organised by the Kottikulam club, the reunion mixed nostalgic sea tales with demands for neglected government welfare pensions.
Retired Merchant Navy veterans celebrated Seamen’s Unity Day at Palakkunnu, honouring members over seventy-five. Organised by the Kottikulam club, the reunion mixed nostalgic sea tales with demands for neglected government welfare pensions.
Palakkunnu: Nostalgia, shared camaraderie, and lingering anxieties about life ashore marked a reunion of retired Merchant Navy personnel gathered here on Seamen’s Unity Day. Observed annually on November 6, the day commemorates the 1996 centenary celebrations of the National Union of Seafarers of India (NUSI).
Organised by the Kottikulam Merchant Navy Club, the get-together served as a vibrant platform for veterans to relive tales from the high seas—from braving turbulent waters to facing perilous pirate encounters. Yet beneath the warmth of shared memories ran an undercurrent of concern regarding their post-retirement lives.
Many participants voiced bitter disappointment over the government's continued indifference toward their welfare. They pointed out that while monthly welfare pensions are granted to almost every sector in the country, seafarers—whose hard labour brings in billions in foreign exchange—remain neglected and denied basic pension benefits. During the event, club members who have crossed the milestone of 75 years were honoured with ceremonial shawls (ponnada), citations, and cash purses.
The Kottikulam Merchant Navy Club has been an active collective for seafarers for over three decades. The meet was inaugurated by patron V Karunakaran (Mangaluru), with club president Palakkunnil Kutty in the chair. NUSI district representative Prajitha Anoop, General Secretary U K Jayaprakash, Treasurer Krishnan Mudiyakkal, Vice Presidents Ibrahim Kanhangad and P V Kunjikkannan, along with Secretaries B A Radhakrishnan and Balakrishnan Kanhangad, addressed the gathering.
The honoured veterans included Abubacker Siddique (Pattathanam), B P Dinesh (Mangaluru), M Krishnan (Udayamangalam), K Krishnan (Kuthirmal), C K Kunjambu (Vedikkunnu), A M Lohithakshan Nair (Manikkoth), S Purushothaman (Kunnummal), T V Raghavan (Udayamangalam), and K Vinodkumar (Thrikkannad). The club also resolved to host a family get-together on the 10th of this month to celebrate the 30th anniversary of the inauguration of its club building.