Family members of seven Rameswaram fishermen who were arrested by the Sri Lankan navy on July 28 on charges of trespassing into Sri Lankan waters while fishing, have urged the district administration to take up the issue with the government and secure the release of the fishermen at the earliest.
Petition Collector
Led by Deeran Thirumurugan, advocate and president of the Tamil Nadu Meenavar Urimai Padukappu Iyakkam (Tamil Nadu Fishermen Rights Protection Movement) wives and children of the seven fishermen, presented petition to Collector K. Veera Raghava Rao here on Tuesday and urged him to secure their release at the earliest.
The arrested fishermen were the sole breadwinners of the families and the families were facing hardship ever since they were arrested, the family members said.
The fishermen – Benitto, Innasi, Joseph Paulraj, Nagaraj, Subramani, Muniasamy and Sathyaseelan – had set out for fishing in a mechanised boat on July 27.
The next day, they were arrested by the Lankan navy as they were trying to return after their boat developed a technical snag, the family members said.
Mr. Thirumurugan said the fishermen were fishing on the high seas near Katchatheevu when they ran out of diesel following leakage in the diesel tank.
As they were struggling to return back, the Lankan navy arrested them after confiscating the boat, he said. The fishermen were presently lodged in Vavuniya jail as remand prisoners, he said. The families were struggling to make both ends meet, he said and urged the authorities to secure their release at the earliest.
Published - August 06, 2019 08:34 pm IST
