Chief Minister Edappadi K. Palaniswami wrote to Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday requesting him to personally take up the issue of repeated apprehension of Indian fishermen from Tamil Nadu by the Sri Lankan Navy.
Mr. Palaniswami’s letter comes in the wake of arrest of 49 fishermen by the Sri Lankan Navy on the night of August 7. The Chief Minister said: “The Sri Lankan Navy terrorised our fishermen by ramming their boats with armoured Naval vessels and en masse arrested 49 fishermen in 12 fishing boats.”
“A Sri Lankan Naval vessel reportedly hit two fishing boats and seven fishermen on board the two fishing boats were thrown into the sea,” he said. Accusing the Sri Lankan Navy of “abduction and apprehension” of fishermen belonging to the coastal districts bordering Palk Bay’’, he said there was an unwarranted display of military power on the part of the Sri Lankan Navy against “poor innocent Indian fishermen”.
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He said the recent attack had come as a rude shock as the process of converting trawling boats to long-liners had just been kick-started in Mr. Modi’s presence at Rameswaram.
“ I also request you to direct the Ministry of External Affairs to secure the immediate release of 64 fishermen and 125 boats including the 49 fishermen and their 12 mechanised fishing boats apprehended recently,” he said.