NAGAPATTINAM: A total of 25 fishermen from Tamil Nadu and Puducherry who put out to sea in two separate mechanised boats were arrested by the Sri Lankan navy on Saturday night for allegedly trespassing into foreign waters.
Of the arrested fishermen, 14 were from Nagapattinam, three from Mayiladuthurai and the remaining from Karaikal. According to sources, a mechanised boat owned by N Ramesh of Akkaraipettai ventured into sea from Nagapattinam harbour on December 5. There were 12 fishermen onboard, nine of whom hailed from Akkaraipettai while the others were from Nambiyar Nagar, Kamaraj Nagar and Thirumullaivasal.
Another mechanised boat owned by Krishnaraj of Kilinjalmedu left Karaikal harbour on December 6 carrying 13 fishermen. Four of them were from Kilinjalmedu, four from TR Pattinam while the others hailed from Chandirapadi, Tharangambadi, Keechankuppam, Akkaraipettai and Samanthanpettai.
On Saturday night, the two groups along with several others were fishing a few nautical miles southeast of Point Calimere when a fast interceptor craft from Sri Lanka’s Northern Naval Command apprehended the fishermen, the island nation’s navy stated. The 25 fishermen and their seized boats were taken to Jaffna and handed over to the fisheries officials in Myliddy.
With this arrest, Sri Lankan navy said it has apprehended a total of 220 Indian fishermen and seized 33 of their “poaching trawlers” so far this year. Meanwhile, fisherfolk at Akkaraipettai and Kilinjalmedu in Karaikal approached Tamil Nadu and Puducherry governments seeking repatriation of the fishermen.
N Nathamani, a representative from Kilinjalmedu, said, “We request Puducherry chief minister to intervene and bring back the fishers and their boats. The livelihood of fishers from three districts is at stake. “When contacted, a fisheries and fishermen’s welfare department official in Nagapattinam said, “We have submitted a letter to our directorate. The state government will follow its course of action.”