Fishermen on indefinite strike in Rameswaram flaying SL action

MADURAI: Fishing operations off Rameswaram remained suspended as fishermen commenced an indefinite strike from Monday seeking the release of fellow fishers and their boats, who were whisked away by the Sri Lankan Navy.

Twenty-seven fishermen from Rameswaram and Mandapam in Ramanathapuram district were apprehended by the Sri Lankan Navy on Saturday night on grounds of cross-border fishing.

The five boats of the fishermen were also seized.

Condemning the arrests, P Jesuraja, president, of Ramanathapuram District All Mechanised Boats Fishermen Association, said a protest demonstration would be organised in front of Rameswaram head post office on Wednesday.

Over a hundred Tamil Nadu fishing boats still remain in the custody of Sri Lanka since 2018 and the government authorities were yet to bring back them back.

Even though a court in Sri Lanka ordered the release of nine boats, which were detained in 2022, they could not be brought back to Tamil Nadu for various reasons, he said.

“With their hard-earned money, every boat owner incurred an expenditure ranging from Rs 40 lakh to Rs 1 crore for constructing a boat,” he said.

“As many as seven hundred boats remained anchored along Rameswaram shore. The suspension of daily fishing is expected to result in a revenue loss of about Rs 3 crore to Rs 4 crore,” he said.