16 Tamil Nadu fishermen held by Sri Lankan Navy; two boats seized

Centre should intervene immediately, says fishermen association leader

In a fresh incident, the Sri Lankan Navy personnel arrested 16 Tamil Nadu fishermen — 12 from Rameswaram and four from Mandapam — in the early hours of Thursday. Their two mechanised boats were also impounded.

According to information reaching here, the fishermen were taken to a camp in Mannar and were expected to be produced before a court and sent to the prisons. The charge was that they violated the International Maritime Boundary Line. During surveillance, the Sri Lankan Navy secured them near Katchatheevu.

Condemning the arrest, fishermen association leader Jesu Raja said the Union government should immediately intervene and ensure that the fishermen were safely released with the boats.

Recalling the “warmth” with which 16 Sri Lankan Tamils, who had fled the country by boat in the wake of the economic crisis, were received in Tamil Nadu on Tuesday, he said against this backdrop the arrest of the fishermen by the Sri Lankan Navy authorities had come as a shock. “Sri Lanka is not in a position to feed its own people. How are they going to provide food to the arrested fishermen?” he asked.

He said friendly ties with the island nation appeared to be one-sided. Recently the Centre had extended huge financial assistance to Sri Lanka. He appealed to the Centre to take up the issue with Sri Lanka.

Ban period

In another 30 days, the annual ban period for fishing would commence along the coastal regions. When the livelihood of the fishermen was just coming to a normal after the COVID-19 pandemic, such frequent arrests and seizures of the mechanised boats had become a routine affair and needed to be stopped permanently, Mr. Jesu Raja said.