22 fishermen held, 3 boats seized by Sri Lanka: Stalin tells Centre

As many as 22 Tamil Nadu fishermen were arrested and their three boats were seized by Sri Lanka, Chief Minister M K Stalin conveyed to the Centre on Monday and sought immediate steps to secure the release of all the fishers arrested so far and their boats.

Writing to External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar, Stalin referred to continuing loss of livelihood for fishermen due to 'incidents of arrest and intimidation' by Sri Lanka and said that on June 22, twenty-two fishermen from Rameswaram fishing harbour were apprehended by the island nation along with their three mechanised fishing boats.

"I request you to ensure the immediate release of the apprehended fishermen and their boats. I would also like to inform that permission is yet to be granted for the salvage boats and crew for bringing back the released boats from Sri Lanka. Similarly, the requests of various Fishermen Associations in Tamil Nadu to visit the fishermen jailed in Sri Lanka, to provide them with some consolation and certain basic needs, may be proactively considered."

The Chief Minister said he has been reiterating the need to 'revitalise' the Joint Working Group that was set up to address the issue. "I therefore request you to take this up with the Sri Lankan authorities and also to work towards a lasting solution to this issue.