Thiruvananthapuram: The state government has urged the Centre to initiate steps for the release of 32 fishermen, including about 15 Malayalis, who were reportedly detained at the British Indian Ocean Territory of Diego Garcia.
Fisheries minister J Mercykutty Amma said she sought the external affairs ministry’s intervention and that Chief Minister Pinarayi Vija-yan would also personally pursuing the matter. She said that fishermen were advised not go there.
Earlier, fishermen who went fishing from Kerala coast had landed in similar trouble and they could only be released after tedious interventions, she said.
The 32-member team went for a month long deep sea fishing in two boats on February 5. They were reportedly held on March 1.
Meanwhile, the Swathanthra Matsyathozhilali Federation called on the Chief Minister and urged him to initiate steps for the release of the fishermen. About seven fishermen from Vizhinjam were among those detained in Diego Gracia, said the federation president P. Stellus.
