Chennai, Oct 8: After five attacks on fishermen from Tamil Nadu’s Nagapattinam and Ramanathapuram in a span of one month allegedly by Sri Lankans in mid-sea, protests are on the rise in the coastal areas of the state.
R. Arumukham, fishermen association leader from Nagapattinam while speaking to IANS said, “We are being regularly attacked by Sri Lankans mid-sea and our costly fishing nets, GPS and catch are being forcibly taken away. Our men are also brutally attacked in mid- sea and we need an immediate solution to this or else we will have to resort to tough measures like highway blockade and not going to the sea.”
In the latest incident of mid-sea violence, eight fishermen from Nagapattinam district of Tamil Nadu were attacked by unidentified persons while they were fishing in mid-sea on Friday night.
Fishermen from Vellapalam and Arcottuthurai areas of Nagapattinam district, A. Manian, M. Velmurugan, C. Sathiaraj and G. Kodilingam were attacked by unidentified persons and robbed of their belongings that include costly GPS equipment, fishing nets and catch. The fishermen also suffered injuries in the attack.
Tamil Nadu Coastal police sources told IANS that while they were fishing near Kodiyakarai on Friday night , three men suspected to be Sri Lankans and speaking Tamil intercepted their boat and boarded in it and assaulted them. Manian and Kodilingam sustained injuries in their legs and hands.
In another incident on Friday night, fishermen from Vedarayanam were attacked by eight men in two boats. The fishermen R. Chinnathambi, S. Shivakumar, Palanivel and P. Chinnayian said that they lost their fishing nets and catch in the attack.
Tamil Nadu Marine Coastal police have registered a case and conducted investigation on the attack.
Sundarapandyan, a fishermen leader from Vedaranyam while speaking to IANS said, “The fishermen are becoming easy meat to Sri Lankans in mid-sea and this cannot be allowed. We will have to take tough measures if both the central and state governments are turning their back on our plight. We are calling a detailed meeting of all the stakeholders in the districts of Nagapattinam and Ramanathapuram and will take a decision soon to put an end to this.”
Meanwhile Tamil Manila Congress (TMC) leader and former Union Minister, G.K. Vasan in a statement called upon the Union and state governments to talk to the Sri Lankan government and to put an end to the attacks on Tamil fishermen in mid-sea. He also condemned the indifferent attitude of the Sri Lankan government. (IANS)