Representational image. File
| Photo Credit: L. Balachandar
In a fresh incident, the Sri Lankan Navy personnel arrested 22 fishermen from Tamil Nadu on charges of poaching at Delft Island late on Saturday (June 22, 2024) night.
Three mechanised boats with registration – IND-TN-10-MM 84, IND-TN-10-MM 88 and IND-TN-10-MM 340 were impounded and the catch in the boats were also seized.
According to fisheries department officials, the fishermen were taken to Kankesanthurai Port and after interrogation, they were likely to be produced before a court.
Meanwhile, tempers ran high in Rameswaram, Mandapam and Thangachimadam colonies. Fishermen and their families assembled at the community centre in Thangachimadam and expressed shock.
Only on June 15, the season commenced after the annual 61-day ban on fishing period. Within two days, three fishermen from the coastal district died after a mechanised boat developed snag at about eight nautical miles. Even as the affected families were yet to come out of the personal loss and shock, the incident of arrest of 22 fishers had yet again created psychological pressure and anxiety among the homes, said P. Jesu Raja, a fishermen leader in Thangachimadam.
The governments are silent and passive for long years. “We have no option. Our families are in a state of confusion. Children are under constant fear. Parents are worried about the rising debts in each homes….” he added.
The Fisheries department officials said that 507 boats had ventured into the sea on Saturday morning and were set to return to the shore on Sunday evening or Monday morning with their catch.
The fishermen associations have appealed to the Tamil Nadu government to take up the issue with the Union government and help release the 22 fishermen safely and also get their boats returned.
