RAMANATHAPURAM
Making an appeal to the fishermen to ensure safety and not to cross the IMBL (international maritime boundary line), Collector K. Veera Raghava Rao underlined the need for cooperation with security agencies here on Wednesday.
Speaking at an awareness-cum-interaction with the fishermen representatives in the district with senior officials from the Coast Guard, INS Parundhu and Naval authorities, he said that the district had close to 1.70 lakh fishermen dependent on fishing activity. There were about 180 hamlets comprising families of fishers in the district.
Next to agriculture, fishing activity is the most intense sector in Ramanathapuram.
The district, which has the longest coastal stretch, is very close to the international waters. From Dhanushkodi in the district, in just about nine nautical miles, and in about 24 nautical miles from Thondi, the fishermen can reach the international waters or the IMBL.
Sharing the need to function within the IMBL, Mr. Rao said that with the northeast monsoon setting in, the fishermen had to be more guarded before venturing into the sea. Similarly, due to unforeseen circumstances or due to natural calamities, the fishermen may either go missing or cross the IMBL. Under such situations, they may have to seek the assistance of the security agencies, he said.
The officers and commandants, including Raja Nagendran, K Silambarasan, Anil Kumardas representing the Coast Guard, Navy and INS Parundhu and others attended the meeting. Deputy Director (Fisheries) M.V. Prabhavathi and others spoke. The fishermen representatives assured to cooperate while venturing into the sea.
In a brief chat with reporters, Mr. Rao said that in the interest of the fishermen, the governments - State and Centre - conducted awareness programmes on the safety and security aspects at periodic intervals.
It was essential to educate the fishermen, especially, during monsoon times. When the sea turned rough or showed signs of bad weather, the fishermen had to stay off from the sea on their own. By doing so, the lives can be safe as otherwise, they may either go missing or unknowingly cross the IMBL, which would be an offence.
