Sri Lankan navy detains 16 Tamil Nadu fishermen

RAMANATHAPURAM: The Sri Lankan navy on Wednesday night detained 16 fishermen from Thangachimadam coastal village in Rameswaram on charges of crossing the International Maritime Boundary Line (IMBL) and entering territorial waters of the island nation.
According to a statement from the Sri Lankan navy, two boats and men were caught during separate patrols.The two bottom trawlers along with a huge quantity of fish that was illegally caught by them were seized, it said.
One of the boats (IND-TN-10-MM-293) belonging to M Antony Edison of Thangachimadam had 12 crew members on board. The arrested fishermen from that boat are the boat owner’s brother M Antony Livingston, 33, S Maria Danistan, 26, S Nilan, 26, F Mejo, 40, J Santhiya Stobar, 24, C Sagaya Subash, 24, L Robert Clive, 42, V Kelman Raj, 27, A Seeyon, 23, A Clinton Rock, 30, R Jebamalai Vijanthan, 29, and A Francis Prakash, 23.
The second boat (IND-TN-11-MM-108) belonging to T Charles of Thangachimadam had four fishermen – C Sathish, 38, M Velayutham, 50, S Vishar Ali, 35, and S Raja Gani, 58.
Stating that the men were arrested by adhering to Covid-19 protocol, the Lankan navy added that the fishermen and their poaching vessels would be handed over to the relevant authorities for further course of action.
In a resolution passed on Thursday, the boat owners’ federation lauded the government of India for unconditionally releasing Rs 7,500 crore to lend a helping hand to the people of Sri Lanka who are going through a deep economic crisis. Seeking release of the fishermen and the two boats detained on Wednesday night, they decided to go on strike on Saturday and stage a protest.
They also stated that there is a slag in retrieving a mechanised fishing boat from Rameswaram (IND-TN-10-MM-745) that sank after it was hit by a Sri Lankan navy vessel on January 19 this year. Stating that repeated representations to retrieve the sunken boat are in vain, they urged the government to expedite the process or give a matching compensation to the boat owner.