Solve Indian fishermen’s issues, Kanimozhi urges Ranil Wickramasinghe

CHENNAI: The DMK women's wing leader and Thoothukudi MP, Ms. Kanimozhi on Friday urged the Sri Lankan Prime Minister, Mr. Ranil Wickramasinghe to take steps to resolve the issues faced by Indian fishermen, particularly fishers from Tamil Nadu who continue to face harassment and trouble in the hands of the Island-nation's Navy while fishing in the Palk Straits.

Ms. Kanimozhi, who was in Colombo for a wedding on Friday, met Mr. Wickramasinghe and the Sri Lankan Fisheries minister, Dileep Vedarachchi, and discussed the Indian fishermen's issues with them, including their fishing nets being frequently severed by patrol boats of the Island-navy and the boats of the Tamil Nadu fishers being seized and not returned for years together.

Ms. Kanimozhi also broached the issue of the very stiff penalties specified by the new Fisheries Act in Sri Lanka that hit the poor fishermen from Tamil Nadu. She urged all these issues impinging on human rights should be earnestly addressed by Colombo so that fishermen could pursue their livelihood without any hassles. The DMK MP also stressed to renew the talks between representatives of Indian and Sri Lankan fishermen in a bid to find a permanent solution to their issues, said a DMK press release in Chennai today.