Fisheries project abandoned due to SLA's condition

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 22 October 2003, 16:47 GMT]
Fishermen of Vadamaradchi north Wednesday abandoned their attempt to deepen the fisheries landing point at Inbaruty due to the continued imposition by the the Sri Lanka Army of new conditions that frustrate work on the project, fisheries sources said.

The high command of the Sri Lanka Army in Jaffna recently granted permission to deepen the Inbaruty fisheries landing point as it had been neglected for the past twenty years, sources said.

Members of Inbaruty fisheries society thereafter informed the 52-4 Brigade of the SLA about their intention to commence deepening the said landing point on a 'sramadana' (volunteering) basis. When a group of fishermen arrived at the site Wednesday, they saw a large number of riot squad policemen, sources said.

However, the SLA officials who were seen at the site informed the fishermen that they should collect corals from the sea and keep them along the coast when implementing the deepening project.

But the fishermen insisted that the deepening is done to beach their crafts on shore without any difficulty. Hence collecting corals and keeping them along the shore would harm the idea of deepening the landing point, they said.

The fishermen abandoned their attempt to deepen the Inbaruty landing point when the SLA officials insisted on their condition, fisheries sources said.

SLA sentry constructed with coral reef in northern coast.