Chennai, March 25 (BPNS)
Indian Fishermen at Rameswaram are on strike and have stopped going to sea for fishing in protest of the arrest of 16 fishermen from the area by the Sri Lankan Navy.
800 fishing boats from Rameswaram have stopped fishing in the sea as protest against the arrest of fishermen from Rameswaram and Mandapam on Thursday.
Yesudas.S. Arokyasami, a fisherman from Rameswaram while speaking to IANS, “Even as more than 82 fishermen from Tamil Nadu were arrested by the Sri Lankan Navy since the beginning of 2022, the central and state governments are not doing much against this. We are not going to sea for fishing as a mark of protest against this injustice to fishermen from our state.”
He also said that even as Government of India had supported the crisis-ridden Sri Lankan government with huge money, the Sri Lankan side is not reciprocating the Indian gesture.
Yesudas said that in the deep sea, the fishermen from Sri Lanka are now pleading with the Indian fishermen for uncooked rice and even liquor. He said that during earlier times, the Sri Lankan fishermen used to be very arrogant but now they have changed into very timid people due to the heavy crisis faced by the island nation.
The fisherman however said that even after the Indian government had supported Sri Lankans, the arrest and torment by the Sri Lankan Navy is continuing and called upon both the Central government and Tamil Nadu government to immediately act on the matter and to put an end to this issue.
Mathew Arumugham, a fisherman from Rameswaram while speaking to BPNS said, “Indian fishermen from Tamil Nadu are facing the brunt of action by the Sri Lankan Navy even after the Government of Sri Lanka was pleading with the Indian government for financial support. These attacks and regular arrests of Indian fishermen by the Sri Lankans cannot be accepted and we are calling off work for the day as a token protest and this will continue if inaction continues.”
With the issue of Indian fishermen being arrested by Sri Lankan authorities over the crossing of International Maritime Boundary Line( IMBL) turning a hot subject, the fishermen from Rameswaram are jacking up pressure on both the Central government and the Tamil Nadu government to bring about a permanent solution to the matter.
