Image used for representational purpose.
THOOTHUKUDI: Ending a four-week-long strike and strife among two communities, Kombuthurai fishermen set sail into the sea on Saturday. The unrest began after three fishermen from Kombuthurai, which is dominated by Roman Catholic Christians, embraced Islam recently and they were removed from the associations of the hamlet. The fishing hamlet abounds with the Muslim-dominated Kayalpattinam municipality.
After the Kombuthurai fishermen refused to provide a tractor to the three converts to pull their boats into the sea, Kayalpattinam Muslim Ikkiya Peravai extended support to the converts and bought them a new tractor. They also began referring to Kombuthurai fishermen as 'Kadayakudi', a name found in old revenue records.
Kombuthurai fishermen strongly objected to this nomenclature, stating that the RC Church's ecclesiastical records available since the 16th Century refer to the hamlet as Kombuthurai. A case related to renaming Kombuthurai is pending before the Madurai Bench of Madras High Court.
The stalemate continued even after several rounds of peace talks with the district administration. On Friday, Thoothukudi district Country Boat Fishermen Welfare Association president Dr Gayes convened a meeting of fishermen at Kombuthurai. Fishermen leaders from all hamlets between Pazhayakayal and Periyathalai took part in the meeting.
Gayes appealed to the fishermen to end the strike and resume fishing activities. It has been decided to extend complete support to the Muslim converts for fishing and auctioning at Kombuthurai Beach. However, the tractor donated by the Peravai will not be allowed entry to the beach. "We have settled all the issues, and the fishing activities have resumed in the region," Gayes told TNIE.