Ban ends: Fishermen want boats back from SL

Thiruchirapalli

The 45-day ban on fishing, as postulated by the Tamil Nadu Marine Fishing Regulation Act 1983 for conserving the wealth of the marine species, ends on May 29, and fishermen’s forums across the coastal districts of Tamil Nadu are getting impatient; they are appealing to the state government to help retrieve 98 boats, detained by the Sri Lankan Navy since February 2015 for crossing the International Maritime Boundary Line (IMBL). But now their livelihood is at stake and fishermen are anxious, waiting to venture out to sea after midnight on May 29, and to do so, they need their boats back.  

A fishermen’s delegation will, on June 2, meet BJP president Amit Shah, who had, during his recent visits during his election campaign, evinced great concern for the plight of the fishermen of Tamil Nadu and Puducherry. They want to bring home to him the point that the Sri Lanka government should release the boats in their custody as a goodwill gesture between nations.

“While all the fishermen who were detained by the island nation were released, the government should also consider the release of the 98 boats,” M Ilango, General Secretary of the National Fishworkers Forum (NFF) told DTNext , pointing out that the Sri Lanka government, after Maithripala Sirisena assumed charge as the  President, had thrice released the fishermen whom they had captured.  “Now both nations should come to an agreement for freeing the boats too,” he added. “We want to ask Mr Amit Shah to help us through the devising of some special programmes for the fishermen of Tamil Nadu and their livelihoods,” Ilango said.

The fishermen associations have already sent representations to Prime Minister Narendra Modi in this regard and personally met ministers Sushma Swaraj and Pon Radhakrishnan. “There are reactions for our appeal from the leaders, but no results yet,” Ilango said.

All India Fishermen’s Association Advisory Committee member Rajendran has appealed to the state government to establish a committee to review the condition of the boats detained in Sri Lanka and initiate steps to restore them to their owners.