RAMANATHAPURAM
Representatives from Traditional Fishermen Federation petitioned Collector K. Veera Rgahava Rao on Monday, seeking his intervention in stopping ticketed mechanized boats from taking pilgrims to the St. Antony’s Feast at Katchatheevu, scheduled to be held on March 6 and 7.
The fishermen stated that tourists are being fleeced with exorbitant ticket rates by unauthorized boat owners and demanded that country boats should be allowed instead.
“The traditional fishing boats measuring 40 feet in length and 12 feet in height is approved as per rules and can be taken for ferrying passengers, while mechanised boats are used only for fishing. The traditional boats were banned from taking pilgrims to the festival and we fought it in the Madurai bench of the Madras High Court to get it approved again,” said X. Chinnathambi, coordinator of the federation.
This will be the 10th year of the festival that resumed in 2010 after the Sri Lankan civil war that lasted from 1983 to 2009 and about 3000 pilgrims are expected to travel from India to Katchatheevu.
“Last year, we had about 2229 pilgrims and they were ferried in 63 mechanised and 15 country boats. Each boat will carry 30 pilgrims and five crew members,” said S. Devasakayam, Parish Priest, St. Joseph’s Church, Rameswaram, where applications are submitted for attending the festival.
“It’s impossible to ferry passenger without a ticket as it process involves fuel and food expenses for the boats and the crew apart from snacks and water for the passengers during the 2.5 hours ferry. The coordinating committee for the festival also involves fishermen representatives and every year, we taken them into consultation,” added the priest.
A ticket of ₹ 1,500 per person is collected and the application needs to be attached with a copy of the Adhaar card, a police verification certificate for people working in private firms and a no-objection certificate from the higher officials for government employees.
The age group of pilgrims is restricted from five to 70, due to safety issues and life jackets are provided for the travellers by the Fisheries department.
However, Mr. Chinnathambi said that there are agents who fleece tourists with ticket rates as high as ₹10,000 and above. “Over the years, the festival has attracted people from across the Country, including places in Kerala and Karanataka. The number of passengers is restricted every year and because of inflow of tourists, families of fishermen get relegated to a second place. We from the fishermen community have been going in country boats traditionally with our kith and kin without a ticket. We want to celebrate the festival in the traditional way without a fee on it,” he added.
This year, the invitation for the festival has been received from the Jaffna Bishop Rev. Justin B. Gnanaprakasam and the Collector is expected to convene a meeting in the coming weeks. The festival will commence on March 6 evening with flag-hoisting and a holy mass and adoration ceremony after which the feast mass will be conducted on March 7 morning.
