Sri Lankan Navy has arrested six fishermen from the Palk Bay area and seized their boats and accused them of poaching in the country’s territorial waters, said police on Thursday. “When the six fishermen were fishing in the Palk Bay sea area, the Sri Lankan Navy came to the area and claimed that they were fishing across the border and arrested the six fishermen and took them with their boat to Thalaimannar for investigation,” said Q Branch Police, Rameswaram.
On July 20, the fishermen went fishing from Rameswaram port after obtaining permission from the Department of Fisheries. The fishermen who went for fishing have been identified as N Palamurugan (32) from Kariyur; D Anthony (38) and K Arjunan (23) from Thangachimadsm; J Maduku Pichai (45) from Rameswaram; K Thangapandi (55) and Raja (21) of Rameswaram Sivagami Nagar.
Earlier, 12 Indian fishermen were arrested by the Sri Lankan Navy for allegedly fishing illegally in the country’s territorial waters. Following which, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin requested External Affairs Minister (EAM) S Jaishankar to take appropriate action for the immediate release of 12 Indian fishermen arrested by the Sri Lankan Navy.
All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) leader O Panneerselvam also wrote a letter to External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar seeking his immediate intervention for the release of 12 Indian fishermen arrested by the Sri Lankan Navy. On March 25 this year, the fifth meeting of the India-Sri Lanka Joint Working Group on Fisheries was held through virtual mode.
The Joint Working Group discussed all relevant issues in detail including the concerns relating to fishermen and fishing boats which have been on the agenda of bilateral discussions between India and Sri Lanka for many years. The Indian side expressed its readiness to work together with Sri Lanka for joint research to enhance the productivity of the Palk Bay fisheries.
The meeting concluded on a positive note, with a commitment toward continued cooperation and dialogue to solve the fishermen-related issues and to hold the next meeting of the Joint Working Group as per schedule.
