Tamil Nadu   

Fishermen strike work

PUDUKOTTAI: Mechanised-boat owners of Jegadapattinam, about 70 km from here, struck work on Monday, condemning the “indiscriminate shooting” by the Sri Lankan Navy on Saturday resulting in the death of a fisherman.

They wanted the Centre to impress upon the Sri Lankan government to ensure protection to their lives and property while fishing.

President of the Mechanised Boat Fishermen Association, Jegadapattinam, G. Ramakrishnan, said about 300 members of the Association struck work. A plan to launch an indefinite strike till a feasible solution was arrived at would be finalised on Tuesday.

Claiming that P. Thangapandian, who was shot dead, had not trespassed into Sri Lankan waters, he said fishermen who had returned home with the body had said that the incident took place when they were fishing well within Indian waters — eighth ‘baagam’ in fishermen’s parlance equivalent to between 15 and 18 nautical miles from the Jegadapattinam coast.

He said the firing incidents were sequel to non-demarcation of clear-cut boundary between Sri Lankan and Indian territories.

Explaining the difficulties fishermen faced in ascertaining the direction, particularly at night, he said the boats drifted in sudden and strong currents. The State government should supply Geo-Positioning System (GPS) equipment for ascertaining exact location to avoiding trespass, he said.

President of the Country Boat Owners’ Association M. Karnan said the Centre should take immediate action to retrieve possession of areas taken over by the Sri Lankan Navy. The quantum of catch depended on the baagam (sea depth), which varied from place to place.

Collector D. Uthirakkumaran at a meeting held at Manamelkudi, appealed to fishermen to abide by the norms as part of safety measures.

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