A delegation of Rameswaram fishermen will meet the Chief Secretary on August 7 in Chennai to discuss a visit to Colombo to hold talks with their Sri Lankan counterparts and find a solution to the fishing problem in the Palk Bay.
P. Sesu Raja, district secretary, Tamil Nadu Coastal Mechanised Boat Fishermen Association, said the district Collector, K.Nanthakumar, had got them an appointment to meet Sheela Balakrishnan and a 10-member delegation would leave for Chennai on August 6 evening. The fishermen in the delegation, who had met Sri Lankan Economic Development Minister Basil Rajapaksa in Delhi on July 5, would brief the Chief Secretary, the deliberations they had with the Minister and stress the need for holding a dialogue with their counterparts. Pointing out that the Sri Lankan navy had apprehended 20 more fishermen on Saturday, Mr. Raja, who was on the team that met Mr Rajapaksa in Delhi, said a lasting solution to the issue could be found only if the proposed visit had the State government’s approval.
Meanwhile, U. Arulanandam, president of the Alliance for the Release of Innocent Fishermen (ARIF), condemned the arrest of the 20 fishermen and demanded their immediate release. With this, the Sri Lankan Navy had arrested 98 fishermen from Rameswaram alone after the new fishing season began on June 1, he said.
While 49 fishermen were released in two batches after month-long incarceration, eight fishermen, arrested on June 15, and 21 fishermen arrested on July 6 were still languishing in jail, he said.
