Chennai: The Sri Lankan Navy had allegedly pelted stones at about 60 Indian fishing boats and damaged 25 of them near the Rameshwaram coast, said officials from the Tamil Nadu fishing department on Sunday.
The incident had allegedly taken place on Saturday, according to a report from IANS.
According to the report, the officials had said that about 25 boats along with the fishing nets and other equipment were damaged in the incident when the fishermen were engaged in fishing activities at Katchatheevu.
Quoting fishermen, the report said that the Sri Lankan Naval officials who came in five vessels, pelted stones on the Indian vessels and damaged 25 of their boats including their fishing nets. No fishermen were injured in the incident, the report added.
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Leaders from the fishermen association, according to the report, said that the Indian government should send a strong word to the Sri Lankan Navy stating to prevent such activities.
One of the leaders of the fishermen association, Sesuraja, told IANS that the incident has been creating a wrong precedent and the Sri Lankan Navy should not be throwing stones at us. He further said that the Sri Lankan Navy can appraise their team if they had crossed the boundary but they should not hurl stones and damage our boats and fishing equipment.
According to the report, Sesuraja had urged both the state and central government to take stringent action against those involved in the incident.