MADURAI: Kanniyakumari collector has told the Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court that steps are being taken to ensure the safety of nearly 860 Tamil Nadu fishermen stranded on islands in Iran owing to the COVID-19 outbreak. This the collector said in a status report submitted on a Public Interest Litigation (PIL), filed by one J Sahaya Satish from an NGO named Makkal Paathai in Kanniyakumari, seeking direction to rescue the fishermen.
The collector said, “The State government, on February 28, 2020, wrote to the Union Ministry of External Affairs to request the Indian Embassy in Iran to arrange for the return of Tamil Nadu fishermen in Iran and for supply of essential commodities to the fishermen till they are able to return to India.”
He added that the Indian Embassy replied that the embassy at Tehran and Indian Consulate in Bandar Abbas was in constant touch with the fishermen stranded in Bushehr province and Hormozgan province. Quoting the embassy’s reply, the collector said, “The fishermen are in good health and are not infected. They have also been advised to follow necessary precautions.”He stated that the special secretary of public department in Tamil Nadu has also sent several representations to the High Commission of India in Iran. Recording these submissions, the bench closed the PIL.