CHENNAI: Furious over the Central government’s affidavit in the Madras High Court stating that fishing was restricted only for four hours during rocket launches from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre at Sriharikota, fishermen called it a blatant lie and strongly condemned it.
“When the whole country knows that local fishermen are prevented from going to sea for a minimum period of 15 days during every rocket launch, how can the Centre record a deliberate lie with the court?” questioned K Bharathi, president of the South Indian Fishermen Welfare Association.
He added that for several years, the State government and the Fisheries Department have been imposing a two-week ban on fishing on those residing within a 15-km radius. Nearly 25,000 fishermen living in 17 different hamlets along the Palaverkadu (Pulicat Lake) stretch near the Tamil Nadu-Andhra Pradesh border suffered for the last four decades each time the Indian Space Research Organisation launched a rocket from Sriharikota, said Ethiraj from Arangamkuppam.