Rameswaram fishermen call off strike after minister’s assurance

Rameswaram’s mechanised boat associations will return to sea on Saturday after Tamil Nadu Fisheries Minister A. Srinath assured them their demands would be met.

The strike began on Monday after the Sri Lanka Navy detained nine Indian fishermen and seized their boat. The Sri Lankan Navy said the incident took place south of Delft Island on Oct. 3, when the vessel crossed the international maritime boundary and was fishing in Sri Lankan waters. The fishermen were taken into custody.

The protesters called for the release of the detained fishermen and the return of boats seized by Sri Lankan authorities. They also demanded bilateral talks between fishers from India and Sri Lanka. The strike continued for five days.

Association representatives discussed the issue at a consultation meeting in Rameswaram’s fishing harbour on Friday. A delegation had earlier met Tamil Nadu Fisheries Minister A. Srinath. After he assured them that their demands would be fulfilled, the fishermen decided to end the strike and resume going to sea on Saturday.

The decision concerns mechanised boats operating from Rameswaram. Arrests of fishermen and seizures of vessels in the Palk Strait remain a point of dispute between fishing communities in India and Sri Lanka. Official accounts differ over the circumstances of the detention.