Rameswaram (Tamil Nadu), Mar 2 (UNI) The mechanized boat fishermen of Rameswaram, who
were on an indefinite strike since February 24 and a sit-in-protest to condemn the frequent arrests
of Tamil Nadu fishers and impounding of their boats by the Sri Lankan Navy, submitted a petition
to Governor R.N.Ravi on Sunday seeking the intervention of Union Government for the release of
all the incarcerated fishermen and their boats.
Mr.Ravi, who was here to attend a meeting, met the fishermen and their families, who were observing a sit-in-protest at Thangachimadam in Rameswaram and expressed his sympathy and solidarity with them.
Leaders of the Federation of All Mechanised Boats Fishermen Association, who had given the strike call, submitted a petition to the Governor, a copy of which was released to the media.
In the petition, they said unless the Centre gave an assurance, the fishermen had resolved to continue their strike, as the Sri Lankan Navy has been continuously attacking, arresting and seizing the boats under the guise of unlawful poaching.
The livelihood of the fishermen was in danger as there was an alarming increase in the arrests of innocent fishermen. The security and safety of the fishermen was at great risk, unless there was
an assurance from the Union Government that they would take up the protracted fishing rights of Indian fishermen in the Palk Strait with the Sri Lankan government and find a permanent solution.
The fishermen announced that they will not withdraw their strike until their demands were met by
the Union Government.
Police had made tight security arrangements in and around Rameswaram in view of the visit of the Governor.
The Federation of All Mechanised Boats Fishermen Association had given an indefinite strike call, after the Sri Lankan Navy detained 32 fishermen from Rameswaram and confiscated their five
mechanized fishing boats on February 23.
The Sri Lankan Navy has arrested 131 fishermen from Rameswaram, Nagapattinam and Pudukottai districts of Tamil Nadu and impounded 18 boats so far this year.
In 2024 alone, the Sri Lankan maritime forces apprehended 554 fishermen and seized 72 boats and initiated legal action against them.
In the past 11 years, more than 500 boats including mechanized and country boats were seized and not even a single boat was released by the Sri Lankan government.
UNI GSM GV 1705