Chief Minister Jayalalithaa should send a delegation of ministers and fishermen leaders to New Delhi to press the Centre for steps to free fishermen and their boats from Sri Lanka. Fishermen leaders made the demand at a demonstration here on Monday.
The fishermen of Rameswaram and Mandapam have not put out to sea for the past four days to condemn the continuing arrest of fishermen by the Sri Lankan Navy.
They went in procession to the Collectorate to hand over the registration certificates of their boats to Collector Nanthakumar. However, Mr. Nanthakumar urged them to be patient, saying the Chief Minister was trying to get the fishermen released with their boats, and he would convey their feelings to the government.
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Following this assurance, the fishermen agreed to take back their RC books, but they decided to continue the agitation, said Sesu Raja, a fishermen leader, who was part of the delegation that met the Collector.
Mr. Sesu Raja urged the Chief Minister to send a delegation to New Delhi to highlight the plight of the fishermen. “Every day, we lose more than Rs.1 crore to the strike. As many as 20,000 persons have lost their livelihood. We are in deep debt.”
Asked about their next course of action, he said: “If there is no word from the authorities by August 1, we will hoist a white flag on our boats and proceed to Sri Lanka on August 2 to demand the release of the fishermen.”
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More than 40 fishermen of Rameswaram and Mandapam alone have been languishing in Sri Lankan prisons.