CHENNAI: Expressing anguish over the arrest of 37 fishermen from Tamil Nadu and their boats on September 21, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin on Monday wrote another letter to External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar to take strong measures to prevent Sri Lanka from apprehending fishermen and their boats.
Importantly, he urged the Union government prevail upon the Sri Lankan government to stop them from levying hefty fines on the fishermen and provide necessary legal assistance to the fishermen.
The CM, in his letter, urged the External Affairs Minister to secure the release of all the arrested fishermen and their fishing boats as soon as possible.
“As I have been pointing out, such instances of arrests of Tamil Nadu fishermen while fishing in their traditional fishing waters have been on the rise. Besides this, the Sri Lankan courts are levying penalties beyond these fishermen's means. Strong measures must be taken to prevent the Sri Lankan authorities from apprehending fishermen and their fishing boats,” the CM added.