Solatium to Fishermen in Lankan Custody Raised

Chennai: The daily assistance to families of fishermen languishing in Sri Lankan jails was raised to Rs 350 from the present Rs 250 and the relief paid for the seized but unrecoverable motorboats has been increased to Rs 6 lakh from Rs 5 lakh and for country boats to Rs 2 lakh from Rs 1 lakh.

These announcements were made by Chief Minister M K Stalin when representatives of fishermen associations from the districts of Ramanathapuram, Pudukottai, Thanjavur and Nagapattinam called on him on Monday at the Secretariat with a plethora of demands, including the release of 87 fishermen currently in Sri Lankan jails and the 175 boats in custody.

The increase in compensation for the 127 unrecoverable boats seized between 2018 and 2023 would cost the exchequer Rs 6.82 crore, an official press release said.

Among the other demands placed by the fishermen representatives were permission to meet the imprisoned fishermen, for which the Chief Minister urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi and External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar to take steps.

Stalin also urged the MPs from the State to meet Jaishankar and prevail upon him to find a lasting solution to the problems faced by the fishermen setting out to their traditional waters in the Palk Straits for livelihood.

Another demand that the Chief Minister agreed to look into was the desilting of the sea near the Pamban Bridge in Ramanathapuram.

The Chief Minister also inaugurated from the Secretariat four completed projects of Aavin, costing Rs 43.61 crore, and laid the foundation for a new cattle feed making factory at Thittakudi in Cuddalore district to be set up at a cost of Rs 33 crore.

The Department of Rural Development Panchayat Raj, too, had a few of their projects launched by the Chief Minister, which included the flagging off of 391 department vehicles purchased for Rs 35.3 crore. Besides, 19 panchayat union offices, built by spending Rs 71.94 crore, were also declared open.

Stalin also handed over the Best Transgender Award for 2024 Sandhya Devi for her service for the betterment of the transgender community. The award instituted by the State government comes with a cash prize of Rs one lakh and a certificate of appreciation.

Hailing from Thovalai in Kanyakumari district, Sandhya Devi, who ekes out a living stringing flowers, is interested in the folk art ‘Villisai’ and has performed over 1000 concerts in Tamil Nadu and Kerala, an official press release said.