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TN fishermen demand joint forum with neighbouring countries

Say more Indian fishermen are being captured as they inadvertently cross borders due to adverse climate

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T E Narasimhan Chennai
Last Updated : Nov 01 2012 | 10:37 AM IST

The fate of the 29 fishermen, majority of them from Tamil Nadu, who are being held captive in Iran is not known yet. Neither the Indian nor the Iranian govt has informed about the status of these fishermen, said local representatives.

P Justin Antony, founder president, Tamil Nadu Fishermen Development Trust said that of the 29 fishermen, 26 are from Kanyakumari, two are from Kerala and one is from Puducherry.

"We are given to understand that these 29 fishermen were taken to the court in Ikkish island, batch by batch. Sherin (age 30), one of the fishermen taken to the court on October 30 in the last batch, said that an Iranian police man had informed them that arrangements are being made in the Pandramas jail in Ikish island. So far the 29 fishermen are not taken to the jail, and are still kept in their boats in the Ikkish island," he said.

Antony alleged that Indian govt is yet to take any concrete efforts and appealed that it should take steps on war footing to get these fishermen released at the earliest.

The Indian Embassy officials have not met the fishermen so far.

Antony added that the Indian government should take interest in the case similar to that taken for the ministry reshuffle.

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Sasi Kumar, the deputy chief of Mission in Indian Embassy in Qatar responded by saying that efforts are being initiated to save these these fishermen. He added that the Iranian authorities are not allowing the Indian officials to meet these fishermen.

Antony said that in the recent days more Indian fishermen are being captured and to avoid this the Indian Government should set up a forum comprising of the veterans from the fishing community. Setting up of the same in the neighbouring countries shall be helpful in reducing such problems initially, and later once and for all, he added.

He pointed out during Rahul Gandhi's visit to Nagercoil in September 2009, the Congress leader had said that it was a genuine demand and he will speak to the Government to make the necessary arrangement.

According to Antony, there are about 591 villages across 13 fishing districts in the state. For around 9.15 lakh fishermen, fishing is the only livelihood. Majority of them have taken up deep sea fishing since the income level is high. They venture into the sea for almost 10-15 days and due to the climate they end up crossing the borders.

He noted, in normal conditions if a fishermen takes one voyage into the deep sea, he can bring back Sharks and others worth Rs 4-5 crore.

On an average, the loss would be around Rs 15-20 crore per day if the fishing activities come to halt in the state. There are around 6,728 mecahnised boats and 56,792 non-mecahised boats in the state.

Kanyakumari district is one of the largest fishing districts in the state and has around 1.5 lakh fishermen, around 1,200 mechanised and 6,000 non-mechanised ports.

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First Published: Nov 01 2012 | 10:37 AM IST

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