Rameshwaram: Seven fishermen were arrested by the Sri Lankan Navy on the charges of ‘trespassing’ in the early hours of March 10.
As per the information, the seven fishermen were arrested by the Sri Lankan Navy for trespassing while fishing at a distance of 32 nautical miles near Neduntheevu Naval Camp, Sri Lanka. These fishermen had set sail from the Jegathapattinam barge port on March 9.
The arrested fisherman has been identified as Kaliappan, Akhilan, Kodi Mari, Sheikh Abdullah, Thangaraj, Jayaraman and Saravanan.
The arrested fishermen belong to Nagapattinam, Ramanathapuram and Pudukottai Districts. Earlier, six fishermen who were apprehended by the Sri Lankan Navy were released in February.
Earlier, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin expressed concerns about the increase in attacks on members of the state’s fishing community in the region and urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to intervene and resolve the issue at the earliest.
In his letter to Prime Minister Modi, Chief Minister Stalin stated, “I am writing to express my deep concern regarding the alarming increase in incidents of apprehension of Tamil fishermen and their boats by the Sri Lankan authorities. This issue severely impacts the right to livelihood of these fishermen, as the communities have utilised these fishing waters for generations.” Additionally, Stalin added, ‘During 2023, the Sri Lankan navy arrested 243 fishermen and seized 37 boats. However, in the past 28 days alone, 88 fishermen and 12 boats were apprehended in six incidents.’