Fishermen of Thoothukudi, Thanjavur, Pudukottai, Tiruvarur and Ramanathapuram held a meeting here and discussed the impact of demonetisation and other problems plaguing them.
Fishermen of these districts, including around 25,000 here, were unable to take up fishing in the past several days as they did not have adequate money to buy diesel in view of the restrictions on withdrawals, they said.
A minimum of Rs 20,000 was required for buying diesel for small boats, Confederation of Tamil Nadu and Puducherry Fishermen associations General Secretary N J Bose said.
The meeting was attended by around 200 representatives of the fishermen associations, including TN Coastal Mechanised Boats Fishermen Association President P Sesuraj.
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Among others, the fishermen also said that 20 of their colleagues and 115 boats were still under Sri Lankan custody and sought their release.
The fishermen leaders said they planned to meet Tamil Nadu Fisheries Minister D Jayakumar and state BJP President Tamilisai Sounderrajan next week to highlight their problems.
They also demanded formation of an exclusive Fisheries ministry at the Centre.
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The fishermen's representatives warned that they would be forced to launch a "rail roko" agitation if the government did not help them overcome cash shortage faced by them due to demonetisation and help them participate in the church festival at Katchativu on December 7.
They said that if their demands were not met they would meet again on December 5 and decide about the rail roko agitation in the state.