A fishermen delegation from Rameswaram will meet Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M. K. Stalin in Chennai on Tuesday, February 27, 2024.
According to fishermen leader P. Jesu Raja, the delegation will meet the CM to appraise him about the current situation with regard to the continual arrests of T.N. fishermen by the Sri Lankan Navy, and seek his assistance in finding a permanent solution to this, from the Union government.
The fishers’ demands include the immediate release of the five fishermen who have been given jail sentences in Sri Lanka (in separate incidents) after their arrests, the retrieval of all their mechanised boats that have been impounded by the Lankan Navy personnel since 2018, and the bringing about of a bring a permanent solution for fishermen engaged in fishing along the Palk Bay.
Earlier this month, a Sri Lankan court had sentenced five fishermen to prison terms of between six months to two years, for repeat offences of poaching, while ordering the release of 37 other fishermen who had been remanded in judicial custody in the island nation since February 2. Protesting against this, fishermen associations in T.N.’s coastal districts had announced boycotting of their work from February 17.
However, two days ago, Ramanathapuram DMK MLA Katharbatcha Muthuramalingam intervened, and assured the agitating fishermen that he would get them an appointment with the CM at the earliest, and convinced them to withdraw their relay hunger fast, being observed since February 24. T.N. Fisheries Minister Anitha Radhakrishnan had also promised to find alternatives for the fishers, such as deep sea fishing, for which subsidies are being offered by the Union and State governments.
Meanwhile, a fishers meeting held in Thangachimadam in Ramanathapuram district on Monday, February 26, decided on the resumption of work with immediate effect. Fishermen leaders appealed to the fishers to be on their guard and to not take any risks that could have them arrested on poaching charges by the Sri Lankan Navy.
