Fishermen in Rameswaram, numbering a few thousands, went on an indefinite strike since yesterday morning to protest against the attack on hapless Tamil fishermen by the Coast Guard personnel.

It turns out that Coast Guard personnel on a routine patrol sortie intercepted a boat carrying Tamil fishermen. Fishermen later said that they were beaten up and fired rubber bullets as they were ‘not able’ to respond in Hindi to questions posed to them by the personnel. A couple of fishermen injured in the incident are getting treated at the Rameswaam Govt. General Hospital.

Coast Guard, however, has denied that its personnel fired at Tamil fishermen. Rameswaram fishermen are not ready to buy this argument and have sought unconditional apology from the Coast Guard for attacking them, similar to the attacks they had been facing for many years at the hands of Lankan Navy personnel.  Fishermen in Rameswarm met yesterday at a meeting and decided to strike work.

Based on the decision, thousands of fishermen stayed off the shores and the more than 800 fishing boats remained firmly on the shores. Fishermen are also planning to protest at the main bus terminal at Rameswaram on Thursday.