While speaking during the protest meeting on Monday, Sahayam, a fishermen association leader in Rameswaram, said over 100 fishermen and about 25 boats were taken into custody by the Lankan Navy in the past four months. “Though India has been hugely supporting the country to tide over its dire economic crisis, they still continue to arrest our fishermen,” he said.
The protestors also urged the Union government to urgently intervene and bring back the arrested men from the island nation. “We decided to hold a one-day strike (and not an indefinite strike) as the fishing ban will come into effect April 15 onwards, and we have to make most of the next few days,” Sahayam added .