Chief Minister Jayalalithaa has urged Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to impress upon the Sri Lankan government the need to instruct its Navy to exercise restraint and refrain from harassing innocent Indian fishermen pursuing their livelihood in traditional waters.
In a letter to the Prime Minister on Wednesday, she drew his attention to another incident of harassment of fishermen by the Sri Lankan Navy on Tuesday.
Of about 704 mechanised fishing boats that had set out for fishing from Rameswaram on Monday, fishermen on 45 boats fishing near Katchatheevu were harassed by the Sri Lankan Navy, which chased them, cut the ropes and damaged nets of 10 boats, resulting in huge loss to the fishermen.
She said that the fishermen of Tamil Nadu had been traditionally fishing in the waters near Katchatheevu, notwithstanding geographical or political boundaries.
She had brought to the Prime Minister’s notice various incidents of attack on fishermen by the Sri Lankan Navy/miscreants in the last 12 months and sought his intervention.
“This latest incident of harassment has shocked the State of Tamil Nadu and created a psychological fear in the minds of our fishermen,” the Chief Minister said.
