RAMESHWARAM: As many as 33 Indian fishermen were arrested by Sri Lankan Navy for allegedly poaching in the country’s waters near Neduntheevu, officials said on saturday.The Lankan Navy personnel arrested 33 fishermen belonging to Nagapattinam district when they were fishing near Neduntheevu in Sri Lankan waters last night, Fisheries Department sources said.
The fishermen were arrested and the five boats, in which they were travelling, were also seized, Joint Director, Fisheries Department of Nagapattinam, Subburaj said here.All of them were taken to Kangesanthurai, he said.Meanwhile, various fishermen’s associations decided in a meeting today to hold a symbolic demonstration in Rameswaram carrying “thiruvodu” (begging bowl) on April 10 “seeking alms” from the authorities as their livelihood has been affected due to the frequent arrests by Sri Lankan navy personnel.
The meeting urged the Centre and state governments to take urgent steps to protect the fishing rights of Indian fishermen in their traditional waters as they were scared of putting out to sea due to frequent arrests by the navy personnel, All Fishermen Organization leaders T Sasuraja and N J Bose told reporters.
They also expressed regret over Sri Lanka President Maithripala Sirisena’s remark that he has clearly instructed the island nation’s navy to seize boats that violate the country’s territorial waters.They expressed shock over the “silence” of the Centre and state governments over the remark.
The meeting also decided to boycott next year’s Assembly polls if their problems were not solved, they said.It also demanded retrieval of Katchatheevu, an Indian islet ceded to Sri Lanka in 1974 by India.