CHENNAI: Sri Lankan Navy allegedly detained 13 fishermen from Tamil Nadu for fishing in their waters on Thursday morning, prompting Chief Minister Edappadi K Palaniswami to dash off a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi seeking his intervention in their release.
In the letter, Palaniswami said since the AIADMK has challenged the constitutional validity of the Indo-Sri Lankan Agreement of 1974 that ceded Katchatheevu to the neighbouring island, he asked the Union Government not to treat the issue of International Maritime Border Line (IMBL) as settled.
Sri Lankan Navy arrests Tamil Nadu fishermen frequently “for fishing beyond” Katchatheevu, but the state government says the fishermen fish well within the Indian border and they don’t venture into the Sri Lankan waters. Palaniswami’s latest letter came hours after the Sri Lankan Navy apprehended 13 fishermen in 2 boats in the wee hours.
He also thanked the Prime Minister for securing the release of 79 Tamil Nadu fishermen from Sri Lankan custody, who reached home a few days ago.
“I would like to bring to your kind notice, the recent spate of apprehensions of our fishermen in their traditional fishing waters of Palk Bay in which 84 fishermen in 14 mechanised fishing boats were apprehended by the Sri Lankan Navy in 8 incidents,” Palaniswami said, adding that these fishermen set sail for fishing from various fishing bases in Ramanathapuram, Pudukottai and Nagapattinam District of Tamil Nadu to eke out their livelihood.
“The Government of Tamil Nadu is extremely concerned about these frequent apprehensions, prolonged incarceration of our fishermen, detention of their fishing boats for long duration leading to its deterioration,” the CM said. He also noted that fishermen who were apprehended since November 2017 are still languishing in Sri Lankan jails and their families back home are subjected to abject poverty.
“I also request you to secure the immediate release of the remaining 84 fishermen and 159 fishing boats including the 13 fishermen and their 2 mechanized fishing boats which were apprehended on 4.1.2018, without any further delay,” Palaniswami said.
