The Hindu : Kerala News : Dispute over fishing at Neeleswaram

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Monday, Dec 06, 2004

Kerala

Kerala

Dispute over fishing at Neeleswaram

By Our Staff Reporter

KASARAGOD, DEC. 5. The police fired two rounds of plastic pellets in the air to disburse a mob that assembled in Thaikadappuram in Neeleswaram coast following a dispute between the local fishermen and a group of fishermen from Kanyakumari and Thiruvananthapuram.

According to the Superintendent of Police, M.V. Somasundaram, the situation has been brought under control following a settlement reached between the rival groups.

Tension erupted around 10 a.m. when the local fishermen and leaders of the Dheevara Sabha prevented a group of 50 fishermen, who came from the south in about 30 boats, from fishing along the coast.

"It was not the fishing by the outsiders but their method of fishing that provoked the natives," the SP said.

Against conventional method of fishing by the native, the fishermen from the south were using `kulachil' (a kind of grass) tied with `thotta' (an explosive device). According to the locals, the use of explosives would result in the destruction of fish and other marine life in the area.

There are some middlemen in Neeleswaram coast who sponsor the activities of the fishermen from the south. The Dheevara Sabha has since long been opposing their `destructive style' of fishing.

"The issue has been settled. The outsiders have agreed to the demand of the Sabha leaders that they do not carry out their style of fishing along Neeleswaram coast," the SP said.

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