Chief Minister O. Panneerselvam on Monday urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to ensure the prompt release of 38 fishermen, including the 14 detained by the Sri Lankan authorities on Sunday. He thanked Mr. Modi for the “timely intervention” in securing the release of five fishermen on death row.
Mr. Panneerselvam reminded Mr. Modi that 24 Tamil Nadu fishermen, apprehended by the Sri Lankan Navy nearly two months ago, were still in custody there. Besides, 78 boats, including three in the latest incident, were in Sri Lankan custody.
Sri Lanka’s strategy of not releasing boats was causing “great frustration among Tamil Nadu fishermen.” Without their livelihood base, the fishermen were in “a state of despondency,” Mr Panneerselvam said. He called upon the Prime Minister to take up the matter with the highest authorities in Sri Lanka and see to it that the precariously berthed boats, which continued to suffer “great damage” in the Northeast monsoon, were released.
Mr. Panneerselvam reiterated the State government’s demand for the sanction of a financial package of Rs.1,520 crore and a recurring grant of Rs.10 crore per annum for maintenance dredging, as requested by the former Chief Minister, Jayalalithaa, while in power, and the retrieval of Katchatheevu as well as the restoration of the traditional and historical fishing grounds of the Palk Bay to Tamil Nadu fishermen.