More than 1,700 Indian fishermen were allegedly chased away on November 21 by the Sri Lankan Navy which also “snapped” fishing nets of 75 boats off Katchatheevu islet.
The fishermen belonging to the island town of Rameswaram were fishing near Katchatheevu on November 21 morning when Sri Lankan naval personnel came in four boats and threatened them, Tamil Nadu Mechanised Boats Fishermen Association president P. Sesuraja told reporters in Rameswaram. They also snapped the nets of 75 boats, he added.
Following the threat, all the fishermen returned to the shore, Mr. Sesuraja said.
The mid-sea incident came after a spate of detentions of the fishermen this month on charges of poaching fish in Sri Lankan waters. A total of 53 fishermen have been arrested by the Sri Lankan Navy in November 2017 alone.
In the last detention, eight fishermen, four each from Rameswaram and Mandapam, were arrested on November 19 for allegedly fishing off Katchatheevu, an islet ceded by India to Sri Lanka in 1974.
In the last three months, a total of 117 fishermen from the State have been arrested by the Sri Lankan Navy.
