Rameswaram: Fishermen of Rameswaram who had decided to boycott the forthcoming annual thanks-giving St Antony’s church festival in Katchatheevu island, to press their demand that Sri Lanka release all the arrested local fishermen and return their seized boats, on Monday called off their stir and withdrew their festival boycott call.
The Rameswaram fishermen will now participate in the Katchatheevu church festival, scheduled to take place there on February 20-21, after talks with the Ramanathapuram district RDO Ramaprathaban convinced the striking fishermen to change their decision.
The fisher-folks were demanding among other things the immediate release of six of their fishermen by Sri Lanka, besides the Island-government returning 76 boats seized by them and compensation for the loss of 18 other trawlers in recent months.
The RDO, sources said, during the talks informed the fishermen that the Central and Tamil Nadu governments had taken steps for the release of the six fishermen, besides trying to get due compensation for the sunk boats.
