Fishermen in the coastal districts of the southern Indian State of Tamil Nadu staged demonstrations to observe World Fisheries Day by protesting against the nuclear power plant at Kudankulam, which they claimed will affect their livelihood.
In Tuticorin, fishermen under the banner of Federation of All Fishermen Associations of Pearl City held a demonstration against the plant. Struggle committee president, Xavier Vaz said they held a protest against the nuclear plant and a petition signed by the heads of 18 coastal villages has been submitted to district administration.
In Tirunelveli district, members of various outfits staged a demonstration in front of district collectorate and tried to submit a petition. When they learnt that the collector was not available, they left their petitions in the running waters of Tamirabaranai river as sign of protest.
In Kanyakumari district, the World Fisheries Day celebrations turned out to be a forum of expressing their agitations against the plant. At Idinthakarai, people took out a rally and demonstration where PMANE members, S P Udayakumar, M P Jesurajan, M Pushparayan, addressed the gathering. They stressed the government should consider the livelihood of the fishermen before sanctioning major projects, including the nuclear power plant in the coastal regions.
2012 Bennett, Coleman & Co. Ltd.