Kasimedu fishers to go on indefinite strike, ask govt. to retrieve captive boats in Andhra Pradesh

Fishermen at the Kasimedu fishing harbour have decided to go on an indefinite stop work and protest, demanding that the State government take steps to retrieve seven boats that are held captive in Andhra Pradesh for over a hundred days. The indefinite protest will begin in about ten days after boats that have gone on long voyages return to the harbour.

Manivannan, Chennai Visai Padagu Meenavar Nala Sangam, an association of fishing boats with larger horsepower, said that the decision was taken after a meeting of all boat owners, vendors, loaders, ice sellers, net menders, and other stakeholders involved in the fishing business at Kasimedu.

“The boats were caught in April just after the annual fishing ban was lifted. It was in response after boats belonging to Karaikal that had been held captive were quietly sneaked away. Boats from the Union Territory were seen fishing very close to the coast, spoiling the catch of artisanal crafts,” said M.E. Raghupathi, also of the association.

Community leader M.D. Dayalan said that, till date, the State government has not announced financial assistance to the owners, who are all single boat owners. “Thousands of fishermen from Andhra Pradesh work as labourers on our boats, which is why boats from Tamil Nadu fish off their shores. We fish beyond the 5 nautical mile limit,” he said. Nanjil Ravi, another community leader, said that the State government must seek the intervention of the Centre to free the boats. “Like the government has taken up the Cauvery River water issue, this one too must be pursued with the same seriousness as tiffs between Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu are not new. Even in Pulicat, fishing rights are an issue between the two States,” he pointed out.

Other fishermen were of the opinion that the State government must stop the sale of fish from Andhra Pradesh at Chintadripet and Vanagaram fish markets.

Though almost every year, fishing boats from Kasimedu are detained by villages in Andhra Pradesh and let off after a ransom is paid, this time with opposition parties in that State raking up the issue, Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu has said that he would stand with the fishermen of his State, explained another boat owner.