press trust of india RAMESWARAM, 10 AUG: As many as 3,000 fishermen, who gave up their work fearing attack by…
press trust of india
RAMESWARAM, 10 AUG: As many as 3,000 fishermen, who gave up their work fearing attack by the Sri Lankan Navy here, have moved to Kerala and Karnataka to earn their livelihood, the Fishermen Association has said.
Rameswaram coast had the maximum number of fishing boats in Tamil Nadu and the fisher-folk faced multifarious problems even while fishing in the traditional areas due to attack by Sri Lankan Navy, the association president Emerit told PTI.
The fish arrival has come down to 90 per cent in the recent days, leaving the fishermen jobless. There were about 4,000 fishermen in the island, he said. Owners of most of the fishing boats were not providing assistance to the families of the fishermen, who had been detained in prison in Sri Lanka, assistant director of Fisheries Phelomen Thiagarajan said.
Mr Emerit said a positive change would emerge only if the fishermen started venturing into the sea. “But for that the Centre and state governments should take necessary steps to create a conducive atmosphere for fishermen to fish in Indian waters without fear”.
“We are only demanding our right to fish in the traditional area. Even in the Katchativu, an islet ceded to Sri Lanka by India, agreement of the right to fish in the traditional area had not been denied. But Sri Lankan navalmen are not allowing us to fish in these areas also and threatening us,” he said.
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