The Sri Lankan government will release 34 Indian fishermen from Tamil Nadu, who were arrested on Monday and Tuesday, along with 86 fishermen, whose release had already been agreed upon. The Indian authorities would also release 36 Sri Lankan fishermen in their custody.
Informing reporters here on Wednesday about the commencement of the process of release of the Indian fishermen, Mahishini Colonne, spokesperson of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said a decision had been taken in principle to carry out the early release of the fishermen of either side. “Within the next couple of days, all Indian fishermen in Sri Lankan custody as well as the Sri Lankan fishermen in Indian custody should be released,” she said.
Totally, there were 120 Indian fishermen now in custody of the Sri Lankan authorities.
To a query by The Hindu whether any decision had been taken on the release of boats, numbering 46 in Sri Lankan custody, Ms. Colonne replied in negative.
“No, not yet,” was her answer to another question on any formal communication being received by her Ministry from the Indian government on the proposed road link between Rameswaram (Tamil Nadu, India) and Talaimannar (Northern Province, Sri Lanka), a topic that was being raised by India’s Union Ministers repeatedly.
Asked whether the Sri Lankan government had approached the Indian government for assistance for its latest project of constructing 65,000 houses initially in the Northern and Eastern Provinces [where Tamils live in large numbers], she said she did not have information about the additional assistance from the neighbouring country for housing [other than the existing programme on housing, under which India is funding the construction of 50,000 houses in different provinces of Sri Lanka including the North and the East].
