Fishermen of the Chilaw and Puttalam areas of Sri Lanka’s northwest coastal belt have ended their protest and plan to commence normal fishing activities from today.
The local media reports r said that however some fishermen are still considering to continue protesting.
Sri Lanka Navy personnel have been deployed in the North Western seas in order to prevent any possible attack on the fishermen going to the seas today.
The fishermen in Chilaw have agreed to return to the sea following discussions with the Chilaw Bishop Valence Mendis and Fisheries Minister for the North Western Province, Sanath Nishantha.
The fishermen in Chilaw and Puttalam areas stopped fishing in protest since February 13th against the increase in fuel prices and even rejected the subsidies proposed by the government.
The protests intensified following the killing of a fisherman in Chilaw by police fire last week during the protest.
The fishermen in the South commenced fishing activities following the intervention of President Mahinda Rajapaksa and the offering of subsidies.
The government has allocated over 3 billion rupees annually to provide concessions for the fishermen to engage in their livelihood.
2000, 2010 by LankaPage.com (LLC)