Fisherfolk here are agitated with the reported attacks by the Sri Lankan Navy on nine boats that had gone fishing on Saturday night. This incident was reported to have been preceded by similar attacks on fishing boats on Saturday morning.
About 6 boats from Akkaraipettai in Nagapattinam and 3 from Karaikal that had gone fishing on Saturday night are reported to have been attacked by the Sri Lankan Navy. According to fisherfolk here, the boats were rounded up, their fishing nets were damaged, they were stripped and ice blocks were placed on their heads. The fishermen were reported to have landed on the shores of Keechankuppam on Sunday clad in jute sacks used to carry ice.
The incident is said to have occurred near South East of Kodiakkarai. According to the fisherfolk, they were within the limits of Sethusamudaram project area.
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Similarly, on the morning of September 26, about four boats from Nagapattinam and one from Karaikal were reported to have come under similar attacks from the Sri Lankan Navy. Sources state that the incident was hushed up to avoid ‘humiliation’.
According to R.M.P. Rajendiran Nattar, district president of All-India National Fishermen Trade Union, the incident demands intervention from the Prime Minister. "Fishermen, who were subjected to such humiliation, say that they had not breached the boundary," he says.