Nearly 900 mechanised boats from Rameswaram and Pamban began an indefinite strike on Monday to condemn the arrest of 55 fishermen from Rameswaram island by Sri Lankan navy on Saturday night and Sunday. Hundreds of fishermen and relatives of those detained also held a demonstration demanding the release of the men and urging the Union and state governments to come out with a permanent solution for the issue.
On Saturday night, the navy detained 43 fishermen and six boats from Rameswaram while fishing near Neduntheevu in Sri Lanka and took them to the Mylatti naval base. On Sunday, another 12 fishermen who went fishing from Mandapam on two mechanised boats were arrested on charges of fishing in Lankan waters and taken to Kalpatti naval base. Protesters said nearly 40 of the 55 fishermen are from Thangachimadam coastal village in Rameswaram and most of them are Christians. The detentions of their breadwinners less than a week before Christmas have derailed their celebrations.
Fishermen’s representatives urged the Union and state governments to retrieve Katchatheevu from Sri Lanka as it is the traditional fishing ground for those from the central and southern coastal districts. They urged the government to resume bilateral peace talks between fishermen of the two countries to come out with an amicable solution. Representatives of 11 mechanised boat owner associations in Rameswaram also passed a resolution to intensify the protest if the fishermen are not released and brought home safely before December 31. Pointing out that a Lankan court had directed the detention of the men in jail till December 31, they threatened to hold a rail roko by blocking the Chennai express at Thangachimadam on January 1.