NAGAPATTINAM: With the economic crisis in Sri Lanka spiralling, coastal delta fishers in Tamil Nadu told TNIE that over the past month their Lankan counterparts have started approaching them at sea with desperate requests for food, fuel and even liquor. TN fishers said they’d shared some uncooked rice, alcohol and even cooked flavoured rice with the Lankans.
Palk Bay fishers set out to sea with cooking essentials and other supplies to meet their needs over the day-and-a-half-long trip.
“Recently, some of us came across some Lankan fishers at mid-sea. They requested our men to give them any extra food items and supplies. In the past, they have violently demanded our materials but this time they appeared very desperate and sought our help very politely,” recounted a fisher from Kodiyakarai in Nagapattinam district on the condition of anonymity.
TNIE heard of similar encounters from three other fishers from different coastal delta districts. The fishers sought anonymity as they might have crossed into Sri Lankan waters.
“We normally know Sri Lankans approaching us at sea means trouble. But, this time, to our surprise, they asked for our essentials politely,” a fisher from Jegathapattinam in Pudukkottai district said. However, some of the other fishers told TNIE that they had shared extra uncooked rice and liquor with them.
However, the fisheries department was not amused to learn of these encounters, as they come amid regular arrests of TN fishers by the Lankan navy, including on Thursday. “We are issuing tokens only for fishing, not for any other activity. We advise the fishers to stay away from the International Maritime Boundary Line (IMBL). ,” said KS Palanisamy, the Commissioner of Fisheries Department.