Chennai: Chief Minister M K Stalin urged Union External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar to secure the release of all the 140 fishermen from Tamil Nadu, who were under the custody of Sri Lankan authorities, along with 200 fishing boats.
‘I am writing this to highlight the incidents of apprehension of Indian fishermen by the Sri Lankan authorities. The arrests have become a festering issue that calls for constructive diplomatic efforts,’ Stalin said in his letter on Monday.
The recurrent issue continued to pose a severe threat to the livelihood, safety, and security of the fishermen and their families in Tamil Nadu, he said and referred to the arrest of 12 fishermen from Nagapattinam on Saturday.
Those fishermen were on their fishing boat bearing Registration No.IND-TN-06-MM-5102 when they were arrested by the Sri Lankan Navy, taking the total number arrests in 2024 alone to 30, he said.
Since 140 fishermen and 200 fishing boats were no under the custody of the Sri Lankan authorities, the Chief Minister urged Jaishankar’s immediate intervention to take up the issue on a high-priority basis.
