PM visit: Ramanathapuram district comes under thick security cover

Fishermen in Ramanathapuram instructed not to fish due to PM Modi's visit; they seek permanent solution to arrests by Sri Lanka.

Ahead of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Ramanathapuram, fishermen in the coastal district have been instructed not to venture into the sea for fishing on January 20 and 21, Fisheries officials said on Thursday.

The Prime Minister is expected to arrive here on January 20 and visit Sri Kothandaramar Swamy Temple and other shrines as part of the Pran Pratishta ceremony (consecration ceremony of Ram Mandir at Ayodhya) to be held on January 22.

The officials said that due to security reasons cited by the Coastal Security Group, they would not issue tokens to the fishermen to venture into the sea and appealed to them to cooperate with the administration.

Meanwhile, all fishermen association leaders convened a meeting presided over by its president V.P. Sesu Raja at Thangachimadam on Thursday.

The meeting passed resolutions welcoming the Prime Minister to the district. The members sent a letter to the district administration seeking its assistance in getting an appointment to meet Mr. Modi.

The meeting resolved to request the Prime Minister to directly engage in a dialogue with the Sri Lankan government and find a permanent solution to the frequent arrests of fishermen while fishing on Palk Bay under the guise of poaching charges.

The members said that since 2018, the Sri Lankan authorities had impounded 150 mechanised boats and had not released them to the owners. This had severely impacted their livelihood and the debts had inflated heavily for the fisherfolk.