Ramanathapuram (Tamil Nadu):The bereaved families of the four fishermen killed by the Sri Lankan Navy have urged the Tamil Nadu government to provide free education to their children.
On January 18, the four fishermen – Mecia, Nagaraj, Senthilkumar and Samson Darwin – all belonging to Ramanathapuram, who set sail for fishing from the Kottaipattinam jetty in Pudukottai district, were reported to have died in an attack by the Sri Lankan Navy. The boat was owned by one Arockia Seshu.
The incident is yet another one in the long-drawn-out scenario of the Sri Lankan Navy arresting and attacking the Tamil Nadu fishermen and impounding their boats on the charge of crossing the maritime boundaries. Mostly the fishermen operating powerboats numbering over 180 in Rameswaram, Thangachimadam and Mandapam in Ramanathapuram district and areas including Kottaipattinam in Pudukottai district have been bearing the brunt of the long-time Indo-Sri Lankan maritime boundary conflict.
Subsequent to the January 18 incident, Chief Minister Edappadai K Palaniswami condemned the Sri Lankan Navy’s atrocity and also announced the solatium of Rs10 lakh for the bereaved families each and government job for a member of each of the families. The monetary aid was given away to the families on January 21 and they were assured again of a government job.
Meanwhile, the Central government has also slammed the Sri Lankan government over this dastardly attack, respecting and reflecting the sentiments of all Tamil Nadu leaders including Seeman, coordinator of Naam Thamizhar Katchi, and Vaiko, general secretary of MDMK, who have voiced strong condemnation of the government in the island nation.
READ:Fisherman nets rare catch in Palghar
Regarding the four fishermen tragedy, Karuppiah, one of the relatives of victim Senthilkumar, said, “When we got information about damage to the fishermen’s boat, we, fisher families, all went to the Kottaipattinam jetty on Monday (January 18). There we were told by the Indian Navy that the four were safe in Sri Lanka. So, we kept waiting at the shore. But around 6 in the evening, they told us the four fishermen were dead and two bodies were found washed ashore on the Jaffna coast. The contradictory pieces of information were jittery. This kind of official response has brought into focus the lack of safety in setting out into the sea for fishing. We are apprehensive of venturing for fishing next time.”
Alleging that the Sri Lankan Navy had clubbed the fishermen to death at the end of beating them black and blue, Karuppiah has urged the Central government to ensure that such incidents no longer happen in future.
The members of the bereaved fisher families have said in unison and affirmatively that fishing in the sea is the only occupation we know. The government’s solatium of Rs.10 lakh may be enough to tide over our present crisis. But it will not be of any great use in the matter of educating our children. “Hence, we plead with the government to take upon itself the responsibility of bearing expenses for the education of our kids. At the same time, it must ensure the safety of fisherfolk,” they said.
The wife of Senthil Kumar said in a tearful tone, “My husband was the sole breadwinner of my family. Now that he is gone, I do not know how to run my family. It was my husband’s ambition to see that our son is highly educated and comes up in society. The money that the government has given us now is not sufficient at all to make my hubby’s dream come true. So, the government must take care of my son’s education.”
READ:Pakistan fishing boat detained in Indian waters
The entire fishing community is unanimous in its demand that both State and Central governments must strive to evolve a permanent solution to this international maritime boundary issue which always costs the fishermen their lives.
Meanwhile, according to sources, postmortem was performed on the bodies of the four fishermen in Sri Lanka. Reacting to this new, the opposition parties in Tamil Nadu have expressed their fear that if the news was true, the truth would be hidden.
