Rameswaram fishermen on Saturday gave up their ‘ > sail to Katchatheevu ’ agitation to press for the release of all arrested fishermen and confiscated boats after Union Minister Pon Radhakrishnan promised them that their demand would be met within 10 days.
As the fishermen took out a procession from the Verkodu church to the fishing jetty to set sail for the islet in the morning, Mr. Radhakrishnan called up fishermen leader J. Bose from Delhi and requested the agitators to drop the protest, saying he would take steps to secure the release of fishermen and boats. Mr. Bose relayed the Minister’s telephone talk with him through the public address system to more than 600 fishermen and women who gathered for the agitation.
Mr. Radhakrishnan also said he would arrange a meeting of fishermen leaders with External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj at the earliest. Satisfied with the assurance, the leaders announced the dropping of the plan even as others cheered.
The leaders, however, said they would take the agitation to Delhi and launch a protest outside Parliament if fishermen were not released with boats as assured by the Minister. They also requested the Minister to secure the release of five fishermen who have been languishing in a Sri Lankan prison for more than two years after they were implicated in a drug trafficking case.
“We have decided to drop the agitation as we are convinced that the Minister seems to be making sincere efforts to secure the release of fishermen and boats,” Mr. Bose and another fishermen leader P. Sesu Raja said. The Minister called him up late on Friday night also, Mr. Bose said.
The indefinite strike launched by fishermen on July 24 would continue till fishermen and boats were released, they said. At present, 94 fishermen are imprisoned in Sri Lanka and 62 boats remain impounded. Besides, 10 boats were either sunk or damaged by the Sri Lankan Navy, they said. They requested the Centre to provide compensation to the boat owners and establish a separate ministry for fisheries.
