Chennai: As many as 37 fishermen from Mayiladuthurai district in Tamil Nadu were apprehended by the Sri Lankan Navy over the weekend for allegedly entering its water by crossing the International Maritime Boundary Line (IMBL).
Demanding their immediate release, Chief Minister M K Stalin shot off a letter to External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Monday, flagging the levy of hefty fine on arrested fishermen by Sri Lankan courts.
The continued arrests of fishermen from Tamil Nadu by the Sri Lankan Navy has been a challenging task for diplomats in New Delhi and the issue is likely to get complicated with a new regime led by President Anura Kumara Dissanayake taking charge in Colombo.
During his campaign, Anura had promised to save Sri Lankan coast from Indian fishermen who he alleged trespass into its water and fish using ecologically-destructive bottom trawlers, an equipment banned in the island nation.
The issue has attained different proportions in the past decade with Sri Lanka impounding the boats seized and releasing the fishermen alone, which takes away their livelihood in a second. Off late, Sri Lankan courts that remand Indian fishermen have been levying “hefty fine” to the tune of crore of rupees, in a bid to discourage them from entering its waters.
Stalin, in his Monday’s letter, brought to Jaishankar’s attention of the arrest of 37 fishermen from Poompuhar fishing harbour on September 21, while pointing out that such instances of arrests of Tamil Nadu fishermen while fishing in their traditional fishing waters have been on the rise.
“Besides this, the Sri Lankan courts are levying penalties that are beyond the means of these fishermen... I request you to prevail upon the Sri Lankan Government to stop levying hefty fines on the fishermen and provide them with necessary legal assistance,” Stalin told Jaishankar.
The fishermen were produced before a local court which remanded them to judicial custody. To protest their arrest, fishermen from Poompuhar harbour have announced an indefinite strike demanding the immediate release of their peers.
Rajendra Nattar, President, Indian National Fishermen Union, told DH that Prime Minister Narendra Modi should “shed his silence” and speak out against the “atrocities” committed against Indian fishermen by the Sri Lankan Navy.
“The sufferings of the Indian fishermen at the hands of the Sri Lankan Navy cannot be explained in words. We are tired of asking India to intervene and stop the attacks. We hope the new government in Sri Lanka takes cognizance of the issue and calls India for talks,” he added.