Summary:
Fishermen from Kanniyakumari had moved the High Court seeking permission for allowing motorised country boats to Katchatheevu for the St.
Antony’s Church festival to be held on February 23 and 24. The cost proved to be high for the fishermen, who could instead use their own motorised country boats to travel to the island for the festival, they said. more-inThe Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court on Thursday observed that fishermen can be permitted to travel in motorised country boats to Katchatheevu for the St.
Antony’s Church festival, from the coming years, subject to rules and regulations. They complained that only a limited number of mechanised boats were allowed to ferry pilgrims to Katchatheevu. A division bench of Justices M.
Sathyanarayanan and R.
Hemalatha observed that under the agreement between India and Sri Lanka, Indian fishermen and pilgrims enjoyed access to Katchatheevu without a travel document..