CHENNAI: Chief Minister Edappadi K. Palaniswami has on Friday wrote a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi seeking Centre’s intervention in the release of six fishermen from the state detained by Iranian authorities for alleged violation of its maritime boundary.
“The fishermen were reportedly detained in a fishing boat for more than a month and they do not have access to basic amenities and their essential supplies have exhausted,” he mentioned in the letter.
Moreover, many of the detained fishermen’s visas will expire in a couple of months and the prolonged incarceration of these poor fishermen, who went abroad for earning their livelihood, would severely affect the morale and survival of their families, he explained in the letter.
Since the families of fishermen are anxious and are worried about their safety, the Chief Minister urged the Centre to instruct the Indian ambassador in Tehran to provide essential supplies to the fishermen immediately and to take legal measures to secure their immediate release.
It may be noted that the fishermen, who were operating from the fishing base of Dubai in United Arab Emirates, were apprehended and detained by the Iranian Coast Guard on September 1.
