RAMANATHAPURAM: A day after the Sri Lankan navy arrested seven Indian fishermen and impounded two boats for allegedly violating the International Maritime Boundary Line (IMBL), all fishermen’s associations kickstarted an indefinite strike from Friday. As many as 500 mechanised boats have stalled fishing activities to protest the arrest as well as inaction on the part of the government.
During the wee hours of Thursday, the Lankan Navy had caught seven fishermen from Rameswaram, on board two trawlers, off Talaimannar. Later that night, the SL naval personnel seized three more Indian trawlers and apprehended 25 fishermen off the Delft Island.
A total of 32 fishermen and five boats were caught by Lankan authorities, following which they were taken to SL for legal proceedings. With the recent spate of arrests, the total number of fishermen arrested in March alone went up to 90, while the count stood at 178 fishermen and 23 boats thus far in 2024.
The fishermen’s associations in Rameswaram conducted a special meeting on Friday, where they resolved to return all their government-issued identity cards, like the Aadhaar card, to the district collector on April 8. If the government fails to take action towards addressing the fishermen’s issues, which have been persisting for years now, the associations threatened to boycott the Lok Sabha election on April 19. They also kickstarted an indefinite strike from Friday.
Speaking to TNIE, Sagayam, a fishermen leader from Rameswaram, stated that despite staging a series of protest for all these years, their issues remain unaddressed by the union government. In view of inaction, he added, the fishermen resorted to return their IDs and threaten to boycott elections.