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Protest in Rameshwaram over fishermens’ arrest by Sri Lanka, Stalin writes to EAM
On November 9, the Lankan Navy arrested 23 fishermen and seized two mechanised boats and an unregistered boat
Hundreds of fishermen staged a roadblock on the Pamban road bridge in Rameshwaram on Tuesday to demand the immediate release of 23 fishermen who have been arrested by the Sri Lanka Navy, even as Tamil Nadu chief minister MK Stalin sought the Centre’s intervention to end regular arrests of Tamil fishermen.
On November 9, the Lankan Navy arrested 23 fishermen and seized two mechanised boats and an unregistered boat.
A posse of policemen were deployed at the railway sea bridge urging the protesters to disperse. “We fishermen earn only about ₹1,000 to ₹1,500 a day if we go to sea, but the Sri Lankan government arrests our fishermen and imposes a massive fine. How will we pay such a massive amount?” said L Sagayam, a fisherman belonging to the mechanised boats’ association and country boat fishermen.
“The Union government should hold talks with the Lankan government with fishermen of both sides and bring a solution. Despite several protests, the situation does not seem to change,” said J Nandini, a family member of one of the arrested fishermen. “It’s been three months since some of our fishermen have been languishing in Sri Lankan jails and the authorities have not taken action to release them,” she added.
Meanwhile, Stalin on Tuesday wrote to external affairs minister S Jaishankar on the matter. “I want to draw your attention to the increased frequency of incidents of arrest of Indian fishermen by the Sri Lankan authorities,” Stalin said in his letter. “These arrests not only disrupt their livelihoods but also cause immense distress to their families,” he added.
Besides the arrest of 23 fishermen from Rameshwaram on November 8, another fishing boat from Nagapattinam with 12 fishermen was apprehended by Sri Lanka on November 12. “Notably, the Sri Lankan Navy’s apprehension of Tamil Nadu fishermen in 2024 is the highest in the last seven years,” Stalin said. “I, therefore, request you to take immediate diplomatic efforts to prevent the arrests of our fishermen and to secure the expeditious release of all the fishermen and their fishing boats,” he said.
This comes amid repeated arrests of fishermen from Tamil Nadu, at least 50 of them, being taken into custody by the Sri Lankan Navy since mid-June. The incidents have led to large-scale protests by the local community in Rameshwaram who are predominantly fishermen.
Stalin had earlier urged Jaishankar to bring a lasting solution to the issue through the proposed deliberations of the Joint Working Group. In 2016, India and Sri Lanka proposed the establishment of a joint working group to discuss issues such as cooperation between the Navy and Coast Guard of both countries in patrolling, existing hotline between the Coast Guards and related operational matters, including cooperation in tracking poaching, prevention of environmental damage due to bottom trawling, addressing grievances of fishermen on either side, investigation on deaths of fishermen and status of apprehended fishermen and fishing boats. The first such meeting was held in December 2016 in Delhi.
