Kovilkandy returnees struggle to survive

[TamilNet, Monday, 13 May 2002, 10:19 GMT]
Fisherfolk who recently resettled in Kovilkandy in the Thenmaradchi sector of the Jaffna peninsula complain that the Sri Lanka armed forces are harassing them and preventing them from fishing, press reports said Monday. Around thirty families live have resettled in the area, having initially fled the heavy fighting there in early 2000, the Thinakural reported.

Sri Lankan forces have constructed a bridge in the Jaffna lagoon that stretches to Ariyalai. The fisherfolk have been told to fish within the small area bounded by the bridge and the shore, the paper said.

Fishing only in such a small area is not sustainable for their community, the fisherfolk say. They added that the makeshift bridge was constructed by the Sri Lanka armed forces using door frames and other wooden items pillaged from their houses.

The Sri Lanka Army has a major base at Kovilkandy junction.