Chennai: As many as 55 Tamilnadu fishermen were arrested and eight boats seized by Sri Lankan Naval personnel on Sunday following which Chief Minister M K Stalin took up the matter with the Union government to secure their release and all the boats captured so far by the island nation.
Stalin spoke to External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar over phone and requested him to take immediate steps to get the fishermen and their boats released from Sri Lanka.
According to an official release, the External Affairs Minister assured the Chief Minister that he will take immediate action on the issue. Stalin later wrote to Jaishankar, stating that he was saddened by the fact that incidents of arrest and harassment of Tamilnadu fishermen by the Sri Lankan Navy were continuing with alarming frequency despite several letters sent by the government of Tamilnadu.
Stalin added: In 2021 alone, there were 19 incidents of attacks on and arrest of Tamilnadu fishermen. Though the fishermen were released, the fishing boats, the source of their livelihood, were still detained by the Sri Lankan authorities, he pointed out.