THOOTHUKUDI
The mechanised boat from Tharuvaikulam near here, which was detained by the Indian Coast Guard near Minicoy Island recently with 10 fishermen, has been released following intervention by the State Government.
When the mechanised boat of Maria Gunasekaran alias Thangasamy entered the waters close to Minicoy Island on November 17 after leaving the Tharuvaikulam fish landing centre on November 5 for multi-day deep sea fishing, the vessel was detained by the Indian Coast Guard for having entered the ‘prohibited zone’.
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While the ICG claimed that the boat was fishing in the prohibited waters, Mr. Thangasamy said the fishnet got entangled around the propeller even as the boat was fishing far away from the prohibited zone. As the boat could not be operated after the entangled fishnet stopped the propeller, the vessel got drifted away by strong winds towards the prohibited zone from where the ICG detained the boat.
As the families of the detained fishermen and Mr. Thangasamy sent a memorandum to Minister for Information Kadambur C. Raju and Collector K. Senthil Raj seeking the early release of the fishermen and the boat, the issue was taken up with Chief Minister Edappadi K. Palaniswami. Subsequently, State Government officials were in touch with the ICG top brass, who ordered the release of the fishermen and the boat, an official statement said.
As the boat with the 10 fishermen was released on Monday afternoon, they are expected to reach Tharuvaikulam latest by Wednesday afternoon with their catch – tuna, Mr. Thangasamy said.
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