T Peter, who championed the cause of fisherfolk, passes away

People from different walks of life offered condolences on the demise of T Peter, general secretary of the National Fishworker's Forum (NFF) who championed the cause of fishworkers across India.

Peter passed away at the age of 62 at Thiruvananthapuram Medical College Hospital on Thursday night. He was undergoing treatment for COVID-19 and was later diagnosed with pneumonia. He died of pneumonia and multiple organ failure.

His life was dedicated to the uplift of fisherfolk. He was a known face on the coastal belts, addressing problems that the traditional fish workers faced, who being one among them addressed their issues in both national and international forums.

During the 2018 Kerala Floods, he had played an active role in rescuing people, by coordinating efforts, which saw fishermen on their country boat even reaching hilly terrains in the state to bring home to safety those trapped.

Remembering him, Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan recalled that Peter was a persistent public activist who came forward to intervene and solve all the problems of the fishermen.

"He was actively raising the issues of fishermen for the last three and a half decades. He led many protests on issues related to the fishermen community," he said.

He actively used to take up issues related to the environment as well. Recently Peter was concentrating on raising the issues related to the proposed shipping corridor passing close to the Kerala coast.

His last rites took place at St Xaviers Church, Veli Thiruvananthapuram today afternoon.

A condolence meeting was also held chaired by Tourism Minister Kadakampally Surendran. Thiruvananthapuram corporation Mayor P Sreekumar and many people from different walks of life offered their condolences.

( With inputs from ANI )