Kasimedu fishermen urge CM Vijay to retrieve 7 boats captured by Andhra Pradesh police
It has been over 50 days since seven boats from the Kasimedu Fishing Harbour were captured and impounded at the Juvvaladinne Fishing Harbour in Nellore
It has been over 50 days since seven boats from the Kasimedu Fishing Harbour were captured and impounded at the Juvvaladinne Fishing Harbour in Nellore district of Andhra Pradesh. "The boats belong to owners who have only one craft each, and their families depend on them for survival. The craft will rot and get damaged the longer they stay without any care. We are urging the Chief Minister C. Joseph Vijay to take up the matter with the Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister," said M. E. Raghupathi, senior community leader, who has been parlaying on behalf of the affected fishermen.
"The labourers on the vessels were all from that State and were let off. The fish found on the boats too was not much. The craft were caught on different dates by that State's Marine Police, stating that the vessels were fishing within 5 nautical miles (NM) where only smaller craft can fish. But that is not true. Two boats were proceeding to Chennai after fishing beyond 12 NM, two had mechanical failure and were floating in the waters, and the others were fishing beyond 12 NM," said Manivannan, another community leader at Kasimedu.
Karnan, who owns one of these boats, said that the issue started before the fishing ban when two boats from Karaikal in Puducherry were caught by Andhra Pradesh for fishing too close to the shore. "The men aboard the boats saw that there was nobody at the fishing harbour and took them away on the sly. After the ban, when boats from Chennai went to fish, our craft were captured since Karaikal boats too are painted green like ours," he said. A former official of the Tamil Nadu Fisheries Department said that though officials from both States had held talks, they were refusing to let the boats go as their Chief Minister had given word that their fishing rights would not be affected.
"Traditionally, boats from Tamil Nadu have been fishing beyond 12 NM off the AP coast. After all, we employ their men. Our Chief Minister should ensure that our rights are protected," he said.
The BriefWire