Considering the economic background of 16 fishermen who were released from Iran prisons, Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa on Wednesday granted `1 lakh each as financial assistance to restart their routine in their native place. This is in addition to the `1 lakh given to their families last month.
Considering the huge cost of `60 lakh involved in buying a new fishing boat, the Chief Minister promised them a grant of `30 lakh per for buying the boat and said arrangements would be made for providing another `30 lakh as a loan under the State government scheme. She expressed her wish that the fishermen should continue fishing in Tamil Nadu instead of going abroad to seek employment.
The 16 fishermen who arrived here on September 17, called on the Chief Minister at the Secretariat and thanked her profusely for her consistent efforts to get them released from Iran prisons. The Chief Minister said she was worried about their woes in a foreign country and explained the steps taken to release them at the earliest and the financial assistance provided to the families. Expressing happiness over their return, she wished them a very prosperous future.
The 16 fishermen hail from Kaarankadu, Mullimunai, Morpanai, Thirupalaikudi and Rochmanagar in Ramanathapuram district, Pazhaiyar village in Nagapattinam district, Colachel and Arogyapuram villages in Kanyakumari district.
In the course of their fishing activities, they ventured into Iranian waters and were arrested by Iranian authorities in December 2012. Without access to legal aid, they were tried and convicted by an Iranian court to undergo six months imprisonment and pay a fine of $5,750 each. Even after having served the term, for want of resources to pay the fine, these poor fishermen continued to languish in jail. After the efforts of the CM, they have been released from the prisons.