The Hon. Shanakiyan Rajaputhiran Rasamanickam

¶ 01 [5.24 p.m.]

¶ 02 Hon. Presiding Member, please bring the House to order; I can hardly be heard.

¶ 03 Hon. Nizam Kariapper’s motion is crucial. I ask the Minister of Fisheries and the State Minister of Defence to note: In 2022, local fishermen raised the same issue; an Adjournment Motion was moved in the 9th Parliament. Then–Public Security Minister Sarath Weerasekara promised a special unit and action. I propose a small correction: the gang is not from “Kaluwanchikudy village” per se; they are from the Kaluwanchikudy Divisional Secretariat area. My own residence is there.

¶ 04 A core enforcement gap existed: Fisheries Inspectors said they could not act once fish reached shore; Police said they could not act at sea. To bridge this, we sought joint operations with the Navy.

¶ 05 Robbing livelihoods is unacceptable. We may argue during elections, but we are all elected by the people. We want to work with you to resolve this.

¶ 06 Batticaloa has many issues: for example, a beacon light is needed at Kaluvankerni; despite vast northern-eastern coastlines, landing sites are few. The World Bank indicated to me and former Minister Hizbullah that fisheries support could be considered from their allocations and they are ready to discuss proposals.

¶ 07 Therefore, to rebuild our fishermen’s livelihoods, we are prepared to work with the new DCC Chair Sunil Handunnetti and Divisional Development Chair Hon. Kanthasamy Prabu, offering full cooperation. We will support necessary actions under this motion. Thank you.