Chief Minister Jayalalithaa has asked the Centre to take positive and concrete steps to secure the immediate release of the 15 fishermen from Nagapattinam who were arrested by the Sri Lankan Navy on September 21.
The latest arrest of innocent and unarmed Tamil Nadu fishermen with a motive to intimidate and prevent them from venturing into their traditional fishing waters in the Palk Bay only added to the immense frustration that has built up among the fishermen community here, said Ms. Jayalalithaa in her letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday.
As on date, 28 fishing boats, including that of the Nagapattinam fishermen, were in Sri Lankan custody. Boats and fishing gear, essential for the poor fishermen to earn their livelihood, were deliberately not released by the Sri Lankan authorities while releasing fishermen, she said.
“Long periods of disuse ruin the boats and equipment and the poor fishermen are subjected to a huge permanent loss,” she noted, reiterating that her government strongly believed that the unconstitutional Indo-Sri Lankan Agreements of 1974 and 1976 should be nullified and the traditional rights of Tamil Nadu fishermen must be restored at the earliest.
She also sought assistance of Rs.1,520 crore from the Centre to enable diversification of fishing operations by the fishermen community in Tamil Nadu.
