Hundreds of fishermen and their families belonging to 18 villages, on Friday, staged a massive protest here demanding the immediate release of five Tamil Nadu fishermen who were sentenced to death by Sri Lankan court.
Major fish markets remained closed as vendors also joined them.
They wanted to show their solidarity with fishermen in Tamil Nadu who have been agitating for past few days.
Fishermen from 18 hamlets in and around Puducherry assembled at the Thengaithittu Fishing Harbour and raised slogans demanding immediate action by the Union government.
Fishermen from Periya Kalapet, Chinna Kalapet, Chinna Mudaliarkuppam, Veerampatinam, Nallavadu and other villages participated in the agitation. Women from their families also joined them. Boat owners and fish vendors too participated in the agitation.
Deserted look
Fish markets at Uppalam, Mudaliarpet and Grand Bazaar wore a deserted look.
P. Putthupattan, president of the Vambakeerapalayam fishermen panchayat said, “We strongly believe that the five fishermen are innocent and the case against them was foisted. It is a rude shock to hear that they were sentenced to death. So we urge the Central and State governments to take quick action to release them."
