Thanking Chief Minister M.K. Stalin and the State government for taking their plight to the Centre for release of jailed fishermen and retrieval of vessels seized by Sri Lanka Navy on December 18-19, fishermen associations here on Sunday said they would continue with their agitation. Fisheries Minister Anitha Radhakrishnan had a meeting with association leaders at Rameswaram and assured them that he would soon lead a delegation to New Delhi to meet External Affairs Minister Jaishankar. Speaking to The Hindu, fishermen association leader Jesu Raja said they were highly moved by the State government’s initiative. “We will take a call on withdrawal of the strike after return from New Delhi.” He added that the Sri Lankan government had announced that they would not release the vessels.
Such unilateral decisions by the Sri Lankan government and authorities resulted in the fishermen staying away from fishing. “What else can we do other than fishing if our boats are with held by the Sri Lankan authorities,” he asked. In the past too, such seizures had resulted in public auction in Sri Lanka and the fishermen had ended up with huge losses, Mr Jesu Raja recalled. The agitation to block the train at Thangachimadam on the evening of January 1, 2022 by fishermen was resolved at a meeting hurriedly convened here on Sunday. Though some fishermen in Mandapam and Pamban had planned to withdraw the stir and go to the seas, they withdrew the plan, the fishermen leaders said.
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