Rameswaram (Tamil Nadu), Mar 19 (UNI) The Mechanised boat fishermen of Rameswaram resorted to a one-day token strike on Wednesday to condemn the frequent arrests of Tamil Nadu fisher-folk and impounding of their boats by the Sri Lankan Navy.
The busy Rameswaram fishing jetty wore a deserted look, as 4,000-odd fishermen abstained from fishing activities leaving over 700 registered mechanised fishing trawlers anchored in the Rameswaram fishing jetty.
The strike call was given by the Federation of All Mechanised Boats Fishermen Association, after the Sri Lankan Navy apprehended three fishers from Rameswaram and confiscated their mechanised fishing trawlers allegedly for poaching in its territorial waters yesterday (Tuesday).
Talking to newsmen here, P.Seshu Raja, Secretary of Tamil Nadu Coastal Mechanised Boats Federation, said the continuous arrest of innocent fishermen by the Sri Lankan Navy poses a major threat to the livelihood of hundreds of fishermen and other workers depending on the fishing industry.
He said that in the past 11 years, more than 500 boats, including mechanised and country boats, were impounded by the Sri Lankan Navy and not a single boat was released by the Lankan government.
In 2024 alone, they arrested 554 fishermen from Tamil Nadu and Puducherry and seized 72 boats, besides initiating legal action and imposing huge fines on the Indian fishermen.
Even though we are appealing to the Centre to take concrete measures to find out a permanent solution and ensure the fishing rights of Indian fishermen in the Palk Bay, no solution has been found so far, he said.
A fishermen delegation from Rameswaram, led by Tamil Nadu BJP president K.Annamalai also met External Affairs Minister S.Jaishankar on March 13 at New Delhi and sought his intervention to find out a permanent solution to the recurring arrest of Indian fishermen by the Sri Lankan Navy and hefty fine imposed on them by the Lankan government, he recalled.
It may be recalled that the mechanised boat fishermen of Rameswaram had observed an indefinite strike, besides a sit-in-protest after the Sri Lankan Navy arrested 32 fisher folk from Rameswaram on April 23.
Later, on the intervention of Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M.K.Stalin, the fishermen withdrew their strike after nine days and resumed fishing activities on March 8.
UNI GSM ARN