9 out of 142 boats released by Sri Lanka are of no use: Fishermen Representative

One of the eternal problems faced by the Tamil Nadu fishermen is the arrest by Sri Lankan Navy in mid sea. As a result of frequent arrests, many fishermen from Rameswaram had abandoned Palk Bay region and are now fishing only in the Gulf of Mannar. 

From 2015 to August 2017, as many as 179 boats of Tamil Nadu and Karaikal fishermen were seized by Sri Lankan Navy after the fishermen in the boats were arrested. Recently, the Sri Lankan government had released 42 of the seized boats. 

On August 17, a team of seven members led by Fisheries Additional Director, Samiran, had gone to Sri Lanka to assess the present condition of the 42 boats and returned on Sunday. Three fishermen representatives who were part of the team said that boats were damaged badly. 

Sesuraj, president of Rameswaram Mechanised Boat Owners Association, who was also part of the seven member team, said that all the 42 boats that were released by Sri Lanka were seized in 2015. Nine out of the 42 boats were completely submerged in the sea and they cannot be brought back to India. 

Out of the remaining 33 boats, engines in all the boats are lying below the surface of the sea. If they are brought back to India, owners will be forced to spend at least Rs.5 lakh on every boat to restore it to working condition. He said that the State and Central governments should provide compensation for the nine boat owners who had lost their boats completely and also should bear the expenses in repairing the remaining boats. 

Read more: Separate team to bring back boats

The Central government had recently launched the Deep Sea fishing scheme and until the scheme is implemented completely, it should take steps to stop the arrest of Tamil Nadu fishermen fishing in Palk Bay region. 

Now, 137 boats are lying stagnant in Sri Lanka and the boats are worth several crores. If they remain tied to the seas they would be further damaged and hence the central government should take steps to release all of them before the northeast monsoon season to avoid further damages, demanded Sesuraj.