CHENNAI: Expressing concern over the 'unabated' instances of arrest of Indian fishermen by the Sri Lankan Navy and attacks on the fishers, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M K Stalin on Wednesday demanded the Centre's immediate intervention in ensuring a permanent solution to the issue by engaging with Colombo.
Stalin told Minister of External Affairs S Jaishankar that four fishermen from Nagapattinam district in the state on February 17 "were intercepted by a group of unidentified Sri Lankan nationals around 3 pm, while they were 8 nautical miles away from the Kodiyakarai coast".
"In this attack, they were robbed of their GPS, fish catch, fuel and two mobile phones," he said in a letter to the Union minister. He also referred to the arrest of six Tamil Nadu fishermen by the Sri Lankan Navy last week.
"While I appreciate the efforts and support extended by the Ministry of External Affairs in this regard so far, I am constrained to note that such incidents have continued unabated," Stalin said.
"There have been four such incidents of apprehension by the Sri Lankan Navy in the last 30 days in which 7 fishing boats and 47 fishermen from Tamil Nadu were apprehended. This creates fear among the entire fishing community who are dependent on their traditional fishing grounds in the Palk Bay area of Nagapattinam coast," the chief minister said.
The physical attacks and robbing of fishing assets and the catch are totally against any law and deprive the fishermen of their livelihood, he added.
"Therefore, I request you to take up this issue with the Sri Lankan government at the highest level to initiate bilateral talks between the two countries to find a permanent solution to this long pending vexatious issue and to put in place functional mechanisms to stop such incidents in future," Stalin said in the letter.
"As on date, 29 fishermen and 82 fishing boats are still under the custody of Sri Lankan government. I therefore solicit your urgent intervention for the early release of the remaining fishermen from Tamil Nadu along with the fishing boats and their belongings which are under Sri Lankan custody," the CM urged Jaishankar.