CHENNAI: Chief Minister Edappadi K Palaniswami on Wednesday wrote two letters to Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the problems faced by fishermen from Tamil Nadu who had gone to Saudi Arabia for eking out their livelihood. One letter was regarding the death of two fishermen from Kanyakumari district while the other dealt with the continued imprisonment of 35 fishermen even after payment of fine for inadvertently straying into Iranian waters.
Two of three fishermen from Kanyakumari district, J George and V Joseph, died in an accident in the seas off the coast of Saudi Arabia while fishing on March 18. While the bodies of George and Joseph have been recovered, the search is on for the third person, P Nevil. All three were working in Saudi Arabia on contract basis.
The chief minister urged the prime minister to direct the Indian Embassy in Saudi Arabia to take urgent steps to trace the missing fisherman and for the transportation of the mortal remains of the deceased. He also said the Indian Embassy there should ensure that the monetary benefits due to all the three fishermen were released to their families without delay.
The second letter was about the plight of 35 fishermen from the districts of Kanyakumari, Tirunelveli and Ramanathapuram who were arrested and detained by the Iranian Coast Guard in three separate incidents. They were engaged in fishing in Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia on contract basis under the sponsorship of local employers.
The Iranian court imposed a fine, which has also been paid by these fishermen. Yet, the Indians have not been released by the Iranian authorities.
The chief minister sought immediate intervention of the prime minister in this regard and to instruct the embassies in those countries to take legal recourse to secure the immediate release of the fishermen.