Kerala HC closes plea for financial aid to kin of 2018 flood rescue hero

Kochi: High court has disposed of a plea seeking financial assistance for the family of deceased Jineesh Jerome, a 24-year-old fisherman from Poonthura who saved the lives of nearly 100 people during the devastating 2018 Kerala floods and later died in a road accident at Kanyakumari, after recording the state's submission regarding the various forms of financial assistance extended to his family.The bench of Chief Justice Soumen Sen and Justice V M Syam Kumar was considering a 2018 petition filed by Michael Varghese Changadakary of Alappuzha seeking a direction to the govt authorities to provide financial assistance to the family of Jerome. With regard to the long-pending petition, the govt filed an affidavit detailing the various forms of financial assistance extended to the family.According to the affidavit, apart from Rs 10 lakh by way of financial assistance, a sum of Rs 2 lakh was released from the Chief Minister's Distress Relief Fund, and a flat was allotted to the father of Jerome based on the recommendations of the district level beneficiary selection committee, chaired by the district collector. Accordingly, HC disposed of the petition.Jerome was a member of one of the teams, reportedly called ‘coastal warriors', who had rushed to flood-hit Chengannur during the 2018 floods, even before the govt made such a request. He single-handedly saved several lives, as he was an excellent swimmer. He was later widely hailed as a hero, as on numerous occasions he waded through waist-deep water to evacuate stranded people to safety.In Sept 2018, he died in a motorcycle accident at Chinnathurai in Kanyakumari. He had gone there with a friend in search of work. The petitioner further claimed that Jerome was the sole breadwinner of his family and that they were living in a rented house after losing their home during Cyclone Ockhi.