NAGAPATTINAM: Close on the heels of the Puducherry government decision to send a delegation to Sri Lanka to retrieve boats from Karaikal impounded by the Sri Lankan government, fishermen representatives from Tamil Nadu called for parallel efforts.
However, an official from the Tamil Nadu Fisheries and Fisherman Welfare Department said there are no plans to set up a delegation for the moment. Against the backdrop of the Lankan Navy apprehending fishermen and seizing boats for years over alleged instances of trespassing, several fishermen came out to cite loss of livelihood.
RMP Rajendra Nattar, the leader of the Indhiya Desiya Meenevar Sangam, said, "The Sri Lankan government has been withholding the release of the vessels impounded, causing many of them to undergo depreciation. Due to this, the fisherfolk families here have been in debt. Therefore, we demand the authorities to set up a delegation of leaders, bureaucrats, officials and fisherfolk to retrieve the vessels."
Following diplomatic talks initiated after Chief Ministers M K Stalin and N Rangasamy respectively drafted letters to the union government, the Sri Lankan Navy have had repatriated the arrested fishermen to India. However, the seized boats were mostly attached.
Recently, the Lankan Navy decided to release four boats previously impounded only after fishermen representatives set sail to Sri Lanka to again appear for hearings. R Sagayam, a representative of boat owners' association in Rameshwaram, said,
"The boats were released only because of our efforts. We had to pay lakhs of rupees as penalty." P Balamurugan, a representative from Jegathampattinam in Pudukkottai district, said, "The delegation formed should comprise fisherfolk representatives capable of evaluating the quality of the seized boats."