CHENNAI: The Chief Minsiter Edappadi K Palaniswami on Thursday wrote another letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi to inform him that another 16 Tamil Nadu fish ermen had been nabbed by the Lankan Navy in two incidents on March 22. Along with them, two fishing boats were also seized.
With this, the number of fishermen in Lankan custody has risen to 26 and the number of boats to 131. The 16 fishermen were from Pudukottai and Ramanathapuram districts.
Seeking the PM’s immediate intervention, the Chief Minister, in his letter, said the repeated incidents of arrest and the seizing of boats for years had been frustrating Tamil Nadu fishermen.
“Deprived of their primary means of livelihood, many families are driven to desperation and despondency. Hence I urge you again to take up this issue with the Lankan authorities at the highest level and ensure the immediate release of the fishermen, their boats and their fishing gear,” he had written.
The issue figured in the State Assembly, where Minister for Finance and Fisheries D Jayakumar said that pressure was being mounted on the Centre to get Tamil fishermen languishing in Sri Lankan prisons released.
Explaining the measures initiated in this regard, he said that recently he met the Minister for External Affairs to prevail upon her to take immediate action to get the fishermen and their boats released from Sri Lanka. The minister said that `5 lakh would be paid for repair of each boat.
It may be recalled that 16 Rameswaram and Nagapattinam fishermen were arrested by the Sri Lankan Navy for poaching near Talaimannar and Neduntheevu on Wednesday.
Sources said that more than a 1,000 boats left Rameswaram Island and Nagapattinam for fishing on Wednesday evening.
When eight fishermen in a boat from Rameswaram were near Talaimannar waters, the Sri Lankan navy arrested the fishermen and seized their boat. Another group of eight fishermen from Nagapattinam were fishing near Neduntheevu when officers from the Sri Lankan Navy arrested them and seized their boat.