Nagapattinam fisherfolk keep away from sea fearing attacks from Lankan Navy

NAGAPATTINAM: Fishermen from Nagapattinam district are refraining from fishing for three days from Wednesday, amid unprecedented rise of tension between India and Sri Lanka.

“We have appealed to trawler fishermen not to go into the sea to prevent any further attack. We have instructed those who had gone fishing to return to shore immediately. We have allowed the traditional fishermen to fish, but have strictly told them not to venture south of Kodiyakarai,” an official from Fisheries Department in Nagapattinam said.

It may be noted that there have been multiple attacks on traditional fishermen over past week. As many as 11 fishermen from Pushpavanam were allegedly assaulted in two incidents on January 24. According to sources, fisherfolk in the Northern Province of SL are protesting for past three days against alleged Indian fishermen activity in their territorial waters.

 According to news reports, two fishermen — Thanigaimaran and Premkumar — from Supparmadam hamlet in Jaffna district, who had gone fishing on a motorised boat on January 27 did not return the next day. Their bodies washed ashore near Point Pedro on Monday. 

The fishermen of Northern Province of Sri Lanka have been protesting over the deaths. According to news reports, they alleged that their colleagues were killed by Indian trawlers in Sri Lankan waters. 
The fishermen and the department are wary of more attacks on them in retaliation.