New Delhi: Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin wrote to Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday over the arrest of 12 fishermen by the Sri Lankan navy, seeking measures for their immediate release.
Flagging that such instances of ‘harassment’ have become recurrent now, Stalin, in his letter wrote, “I wish to bring to your immediate attention the repeated instances of intimidation and attack on fishermen from Tamil Nadu by the Sri Lankan Navy. Today, yet another incident has been reported and twelve fishermen from Rameswaram have been apprehended. Such incidents are happening with alarming regularity, causing deep distress to the people of Tamil Nadu.”
Pointing out that this is the third such incident in two weeks and that 41 fishermen and six fishing boats are in the custody of the Sri Lankan navy, Stalin called for a ‘lasting solution to this vexatious and long-pending issue through the collaborative efforts of the Union and State Governments’.
The Chief Minister further wrote that these repeated arrests and harassment have caused a sense of insecurity in the fishermen community of the southern state, especially in the Palk Bay area, and have also adversely affected their livelihoods.
Notably, the Sri Lankan navy on Sunday arrested 12 Indian fishermen and seized two fishing boats for alleged poaching in the country’s territorial waters.
According to N Devadas, President of Rameswaram Fishermen's Association, 12 Rameswaram-based fishermen along with two of their boats were apprehended by the Sri Lankan Navy while fishing between Kachchadivu and Dhanushkodi at night.
Earlier, on February 8, the Sri Lankan navy had arrested 11 Indian fishermen and three fishing trawlers. In a similar incident on February 1, the Lankan navy arrested 21 fishermen.
The Palk Strait, a narrow strip of water separating India from Sri Lanka, is a rich fishing ground for the fishermen from both the countries and there have been several incidents of the Sri Lankan navy allegedly firing at the Indian fishermen and seizing their trawlers.