Chennai: Retrieval of Katchatheevu, an islet ceded to Sri Lanka, back to India and restoration of the traditional fishing rights of Indian fishermen in the Palk Bay area are on the topmost agenda of the Tamilnadu government, Minister for Fisheries, Fishermen Welfare and Animal Husbandry Anitha R
Radhakrishnan told the State Assembly.
Moving the demand for grants for his department, he said the State government is taking tireless efforts for the retrieval of Katchatheevu unilaterally given by the Union government to Sri Lanka in 1974.
He said an unanimous resolution was also passed in the Tamilnadu Legislative Assembly in this regard. Accordingly, the Tamilnadu government impleaded
itself in the case filed before the Supreme Court and urged the Centre to
retrieve Katchatheevu.
He said Chief Minister M K Stalin has addressed Prime Minister Nrendra Modi through Memorandum on 17 June, 2021 and on 1 April, 2022.
The Minister said he had also submitted a memorandum to Union Minister for
Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying to arrive at a permanent solution to
the problems faced by Tamil fishermen and to restore their right to fish in the traditional waters.
‘The Tamilnadu government reiterates its consistent stand that a permanent solution to this vexatious problem faced by our fishermen will be possible only by restoring India’s sovereignty over Katchatheevu, thereby restoring their rights to fish in their traditional waters’, Anitha Radhakrishnan said.
There are 2,490 mechanised fishing vessels, 12,443 motorised fishing vessels and 1,020 country crafts that are engaged in fishing in the traditional waters ofPalk Bay area.
Fisherfolk population of 2,08,827 are living in 286 fishing villages in Palk Bay districts. Around 80,000 fishermen directly depend on fishing in Palk Bay
districts viz.
Ramanathapuram, Thanjavur, Pudukottai and Nagapattinam for their livelihood and a large section of coastal community indirectly depends on the fishing in the traditional waters of Palk Bay.
The Tamilnadu fishermen are often arrested while fishing in their traditional waters by Sri Lankan Navy in the pretext of crossing International Maritime Boundary Line (IMBL).
‘The prolonged incarceration of our fishermen and their fishing boats by the
Sri Lankan Government have been causing a sense of anxiety and insecurity
among the fishermen community of Tamilnadu as a whole’, he said, while
stressing the importance of retrieval of Katchatheevu and restoration of
the traditional fishing rights of Indian fishermen in the Palk Bay.
On the frequent of arrest of Tamil fishermen by the Sri Lankan Navy
personnel, Anitha Radhakrishnan said the State government has been constantly demanding the Union Government to decisively use diplomatic channels to secure the immediate release of apprehended fishermen and also to prevent the recurrence of such incidents.
With a deep sense of concern on the repeated incidents, the Chief Minister has written many letters to the Prime Minister bringing the incidents to his notice for immediate remedial action through the diplomatic channels.
While the arrested fishermen had spent a longest duration of 113 days in Sri Lankan custody during the yesteryears, now due to the efforts taken by this government, the fishermen were released with a shortest span of 16 days.
He said continuous efforts are being taken to release the 88 fishing boats
and 23 fishermen detained by the Lankan government.
Pointing out that the state government was providing relief to unsalvageable
fishing boats apprehended by the Sri Lankan government, he said the meeting
of India-Sri Lanka Joint Working Group (JWG) on Fisheries are being conducted to release the fishermen and fishing boats, procedures and protocols to be followed during the patrolling, apprehension and also to handle the fishermen in humanitarian manner and release.
So far, five rounds of meetings were held during which the issue of release and repatriation of Tamilnadu fishermen and their fishing boats apprehended by the Sri Lankan Navy were reiterated.