25-11-2011
To
Principal Officer (kind attention: Dr. P. Misra)
Mercantile Marine Department, Chennai
Subject: Complaint regarding inhuman treatment on board M.V. Nand Swasti and M.T. SPIC Pearl
Dear Sir,
Please refer to your letter No.3-EST(59)/A/008066 dated 14th October 2011. I am grateful to you for the time and effort put in by you to respond, as advised by DG Shipping in his order dated 19th July 2011.
The following facts are relevant:
2. While your remarks on lack of date and signature in a few appeals of mine may be true, the fact remains that these have been sent by registered post. The content of these letters have neither been nullified nor diluted due to lack of signature or date.
3. Being a lay person with inadequate knowledge of government hierarchy, it is possible, as pointed out by you, that I was possibly barking at the wrong tree. However, none who received my applications, have so far denied their responsibility. Nor have they advised me the correct department or officer dealing with the same. Even your letter, while pointing out my deficiency, have not clarified who deals with the issue. I wish to inform categorically, that I have never ever misled any authority, nor made claims on wrong pretensions.
4. In my letters and e-mails (copy enclosed), to the Public Information Officer, Deputy Shipping Master, and Mercantile Marine Department, Chennai, I had repeatedly requested each of them to intimate me the fees to be paid for RTI. All of them ignored this. Neither the Public Information Officer, nor Deputy Shipping Master, nor anybody in MMD, Chennai, has given me any ground for rejection of my plea.
5. Contrary to your observation of “extending all help and cooperation”, my appeal for grievance redressal initiated in 2008 was responded to only in 2010. While the DG Shipping order dated 19th July 2011, para 5.2 states “the case be considered sympathetically and humanely”, you have finally advised to take legal action.
6. Legal action for me, without means, and with long judicial procedure and delay, will not be a remedy. I concede I had delayed initiating action. The reason was that I was hoping to continue as a Marine Engineer and did not want to antagonise anybody. But, ineligibility to continue the career was a catastrophe which caused depression. While lack of documentary evidence is affecting, the fact remains that disability is due to unprotected environment and callousness of shipping companies and negligence of supervisory personnel who were to ensure safety of personnel and their welfare.
7. May I therefore request you to consider my appeal humanely and sympathetically and take action with shipping companies to discharge their obligations?
V. Shivakumar
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