Nagapattinam

Fishermen from eight coastal districts in Tamil Nadu have decided to lay siege to the Sri Lankan Deputy High Commission at Chennai on February 29, demanding release of 29 fishermen from the state, lodged in prisons in the island nation. They have also demanded release of 78 fishing boats. A decision to this effect was taken on Friday at a meeting of fishermen’s panchayat leaders of Nagapattinam, Karaikal, Thiruvarur, Thanjavur, Pudukkottai, Ramanathapuram, Tuticorin and Kanyakumari districts here. 

Rajendran, president of the fishermen panchayat in Nagapattinam district, said 29 fishermen from various parts of the state are now lodged in Lankan prisons. “As many as 78 fishing boats have been seized by the Lankan Navy in 2015 and has not been released yet. The boats are valued at between Rs 5 lakh to Rs 30 lakh each,” he said. Fishermen’s associations have been organising a series of agitations since January 26, demanding immediate action by the Union Government, Rajendran said. 

On January 29, they resorted to road, rail blockade at Karaikal. They also laid siege to the port in that city. But, it had not yielded any result. 

So a decision was taken by fishermen to lay siege to the Sri Lankan Deputy High Commission at Chennai on February 29, he said. If that agitation also fails, they will intensify the agitation statewide.

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