MADURAI: Sri Lankan navy arrested 47 fishermen and seized five boats in two separate incidents on Wednesday and Thursday for allegedly crossing the International Maritime Boundary Line (IMBL). They included 30 fishermen from Rameswaram and 17 from Karaikal.Fisheries department sources said nearly 400 boats were issued tokens to venture into the sea from Rameswaram jetty on Wednesday morning. Lankan navy officials, who were patrolling, impounded four boats along with 30 fishermen on board while they were fishing near Talaimannar. They were lodged in Vavuniya prison after being remanded by a court on Thursday morning. The Karaikal fishermen were fishing near Neduntheevu on Thursday when they were caught, remanded by a court and lodged in Jaffna prison.Chief minister M K Stalin has written to external affairs minister S Jaishankar seeking his urgent intervention for the expeditious release of all the arrested fishermen and their boats. In his letter, the CM said repeated incidents of this nature not only jeopardised the safety and livelihoods of Tamil Nadu fishermen but also severely undermined their morale and confidence in pursuing their traditional occupation.A total of 242 fishing boats and 74 fishermen from the state remained in Sri Lankan custody as of Oct 9. “I also urge you to revive the joint working group and to take all diplomatic efforts to ensure that such incidents do not recur,” said Stalin. TNCC chief K Selvaperunthagai has also demanded the Centre’s intervention to secure the release of the arrested fishermen and their boats.
