16 fishermen from T.N.’s Pudukottai, Nagapattinam districts arrested by Sri Lankan Navy
The Hindu
The four Pudukottai fishermen were arrested while fishing near ‘Alai Theevu’ at around 4.30 a.m. on March 12, 2023 and were later taken to the naval base at Paruthithurai in Sri Lanka for inquiry. The 12 Nagapattinam fishermen who were arrested while fishing Neduntheevu were taken to Kankesanthurai naval base.
Four fishermen of Pudukottai district and 12 fishermen from Nagapttinam district in Tamil Nadu were arrested by the Sri Lankan Navy on the charge of trespassing while fishing in the early hours on Sunday, March 12, 2023.
The Pudukottai fishermen identified as L. Arokiaraj (54), A. Ashok (28), A. Karuppu (22), and S. Sakthi (20) - all hailing from Kottaipattinam coastal village — set sail on board a mechanised vessel bearing the registration number IND TN08 MM 081 from the Kottaipattinam fishing harbour on Saturday morning.
Coastal Security Group sources said the fishermen were fishing about 30 nautical miles near ‘Alai Theevu’ at around 4.30 a.m. on Sunday when they were intercepted by the Sri Lankan Navy and arrested on the charge of trespassing while fishing.
They were later taken to the naval base at Paruthithurai in the island nation for inquiry, the sources added.
Meanwhile, as many as 12 fishermen from Akkaraipettai and Keechankuppam villages in Nagapattinam district in Tamil Nadu were arrested by the Sri Lankan Navy on charges of trespassing into the Island country’s waters while fishing during the early hours of Sunday, March 12, 2023.
According to the sources in the Department of Fisheries, the fishermen were identified as T. Anandha Maani, 44, S. Raja, 32, V. Ravi, 48, B. Madhibalan, 36, T. Velmayil, 48, J. Ramamoorthy, 38, M. Anbu, 32, S, Ravi 30, all natives of Akkaraipettai and K. Kathalingam, 50, K, Ragu, 32, P. Dinesh, 26, and S. Chithravel, 42, all natives of Keechankuppam in Nagapttinam district.
During the early hours on March 8, the fishermen had ventured into the sea in a mechanised boat bearing the registration number TND 06 MM 7818 from Akkaraipettai.
In 2021, five women from Mayithara, four of them MGNREGA (Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act) workers, found a common ground in their desire to create a sustainable livelihood by growing vegetables. Rajamma M., Mary Varkey, Valsala L., Elisho S., and Praseeda Sumesh, aged between 70 and 39, pooled their savings, rented a piece of land and began their collective vegetable farming journey under the Deepam Krishi group.