Rameswaram: In yet another jolt for the fishing community here, the Sri Lankan Navy arrested two groups of country-craft fishermen numbering 27, one from Thondi in Ramanathapuram district and another from Nagapattinam, in the wee hours of Saturday while fishing in the Palk Straits. They also seized four country-craft in which they had put out to sea late on Friday night for allegedly straying into Sri Lankan territorial waters.
The arrested fishermen- 22 from Thondi and five from Nagapattinam- were taken to the Karainagar Naval camp, reports reaching here said. After a medical examination there, all the arrested Tamil Nadu fishermen were handed over to the office of the Inspector of Fisheries in Jaffna for further legal action. This incident has come as yet another blow to the fishermen's community as the Union Agriculture and Fisheries minister, Mr. Radhamohan Singh, during his visit to Rameswaram last month had assured the fishers that henceforth there would be no problem of harassment or indiscriminate action in the high seas by the Sri lankan Navy. But today's arrest has again dipped the confidence of fishermen in the Central and State governments to find a solution to their long-term ills.
