Nine T.N. fishermen arrested by Sri Lankan Navy, two boats impounded

Fishermen from Mandapam arrested by Sri Lankan Navy for poaching. Names of fishermen given. Fishermen leader Jesu Raja calls for intervention from Tamil Nadu CM and Union External Affairs Minister. Over 110 boats impounded by Sri Lankan Navy since 2018, causing untold hardships to families. Fishermen risking lives to bring home catches, but lives remain badly off.

Nine fishermen from Mandapam, in Ramanathapuram district, who had ventured into the sea on Monday, July 24, 2023, were arrested by Sri Lankan Navy personnel on charges of poaching in the early hours of Tuesday.

According to information available in Rameswaram, the fishermen had gone into the sea to fish on Monday, and were scheduled to return to the shore by Tuesday at around noon. However, the Sri Lankan Navy detained the fishermen on charges of poaching in Sri Lankan waters and took them to the Kankesanthurai Port.

A senior official of the Fisheries Department gave the names of the fishermen as Arumugan, Manikandan, Kumar, Jayaseelan, Velu, Irulandi, Nallathambi, Suresh and Sivathaporiyan.

Speaking to The Hindu, fishermen leader Jesu Raja said only a few days ago, the Sri Lankan President Ranil Wickramasinghe had visited New Delhi and had held talks with Prime Minister Narendra Modi and other officials. “They don’t seem to have talked about the fishermen issue faced along the Palk Straits. This is why fishermen are being targeted by the Sri Lankan Navy,” he claimed.

Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M. K. Stalin should immediately intervene and find a permanent solution for the fishermen as their livelihoods have been deeply affected due to such frequent arrests, Mr. Raja said.

It may be recalled that 15 fishermen from Rameswaram, who were fishing near Neduntheevu, were arrested by the Sri Lankan Navy in the early hours of Sunday, July 9, 2023.

The fishermen leader further said that Union External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar should take a delegation of fishermen from Tamil Nadu and hold talks with their Sri Lankan counterparts. Only by taking up this issue at the highest level, could the issue potentially be resolved; otherwise, the lives of fishermen would continue to be in jeopardy, he said.