Chennai: Fifty-two fishermen from Tamil Nadu, who were languishing in Sri Lankan prisons, were freed on Monday and the state goverÂnment ordered the release of 52 Sri Lankan fishermen from its jails in reciprocation.
Chief minister J. Jayalalithaa has been pursuing the cause of the Indian fisheÂrmen taken by the Sri Lankan Navy while fishing in the Palk Straits for several months now and had suggested holding a meeting of fishermen from both countries in Chennai on January 20 to sort out the issue.
But the Centre was in the meanwhile persuaded to up its pressure on Lanka to release all the Indian fishermen in its custody and it agreed to do so from January 13, according to an official press release.
The state government agreed to release 179 Sri Lankan fishermen in its jails from January 11 onwards in response, the release said.
