Jegadapattinam fishermen strike work, condemn arrest of 24 fishers by Lankan Navy, demand their release

The fishermen struck work for a day on Wednesday; they have also demanded the release of confiscated boats and have asked the T.N. and Centre to come up with a solution to address the problem of the arrest of fishermen

Mechanised boat fishermen of coastal Jegadapattinam village in Pudukottai district struck work on Wednesday, condemning the arrest of 24 fishermen of the village by the Sri Lankan Navy recently, and demanding their release as well as the release of their confiscated boats. The 24 fishermen were arrested on charges of poaching in the island nation’s waters.

A group of over 100 fishermen staged a demonstration for nearly an hour in Jegadapattinam in support of their demands. The demonstration, in which some women also participated, was headed by the Jegadapattinam Mechanised Boat Fishermen Association president, P. Balamurugan.

Jegadapattinam coastal village alone has 152 mechanised boats and none of them ventured into the sea on Wednesday. Mr. Balamurugan told The Hindu over the phone. The next course of action would depend on their meeting eith the District Collector, he said. Mechanised boat fishermen of the village venture into the sea for fishing on Saturdays, Mondays and Wednesdays and come back the next morning.

The arrest of fishermen by the Sri Lankan authorities has been taking place for the past 25 to 30 years now, Mr. Balamurugan said, adding that such incidents at regular intervals posed problems for the fishers to go about their livelihoods peacefully.

Mr. Balamurugan said the T.N. government should exert pressure on the Central government which in turn should hold talks with its Sri Lankan counterparts to come out with a smooth solution to address this problem. 

A total of 92 mechanised boats of Jegadapattinam village have been seized by the Sri Lankan authorities, Mr. Balamurugan claimed and urged the Centre to hold talks with the island nation in getting them released at the earliest. The seizure of boats poses a huge hardship for the families of the fishermen as they are dependent on the trawlers for their livelihood, he said.