Chennai: In the wake of the latest instance of arrest of Indian fishermen by Sri Lankan navy, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Jayalalithaa today shot off another letter to the Centre, seeking Prime Minister Narendra Modi's intervention in the matter.
Jayalalithaa said people of the state were "unhappy with the lack of any concrete measures on behalf of the Government of India on the vexed fishermen issue."
In the letter to the PM seeking his intervention for release of 104 fishermen and 66 boats from Sri Lanka, she said it was very regrettable that many of these fishermen remained under Lankan custody for long period, unable to spend the festive season with their families. She wrote to Modi following the arrest of 12 Tamil Nadu fishermen by the Sri Lankan Navy when they were fishing near Katchatheevu today.
"The continued incarceration of the fishermen and their boats for extended periods and the apparent lack of any serious effort on behalf of the Government of India to obtain their early release has contributed in no small measure to the sense of despondency amongst the coastal fishermen community," she said.
On Tuesday, the Sri Lankan Navy arrested another 20 Tamil fishermen when they were fishing near international maritime boundary line. Apart from 20 fishermen, the Lankan Navy also detained four fishing boats.There is tension in the fishermen hamlets of Nagapattinam and Rameswaram. The local fishermen want their fellow fishermen to be released before Pongal festival next week.
