The Sri Lankan Navy has reportedly detained 23 Indian fishermen from Pudukkottai in Tamil Nadu. The fishermen are from Kottaipattinam and Jagadhipattanam in the Pudukkottai district were taken into custody by the Sri Lankan Navy, IANS reports.
Reportedly, five mechanised boats are also under the custody of the Sri Lankan Navy. The fishermen were taken into custody while they were fishing near the International Maritime Boundary Line (IMBL), IANS further reports.
Earlier this month,on November 6, The Sri Lankan Navy arrested at least 15 Indian fishermen and seized their two trawlers for allegedly poaching in the country's territorial waters, an official statement said on Sunday, November 6. The fishermen were arrested on Saturday off Talaimannar, a settlement located on the northwestern coast of Mannar Island, the Sri Lankan Navy said in the statement.
The fishermen issue is a contentious one in the ties between India and Sri Lanka, with the Lankan Navy personnel even firing at Indian fishermen in the Palk Strait and seizing their boats in several alleged incidents of illegally entering Sri Lankan's territorial waters. The Palk Strait, which is a narrow strip of water separating Tamil Nadu from Sri Lanka, is a rich fishing ground for fishermen from both countries.
The issue became more contentious this year, in February, after a Sri Lankan court fixed Rs 1 crore each as the bail amount to release 12 fishermen from Rameshwaram in Tamil Nadu. Following these events, Tamil Nadu chief minister MK Stalin had written to the Union government, expressing concern over the 'unabated' instances of arrest of Indian fishermen by the Sri Lankan Navy and attacks on the fishers. The CM had demanded the Union government's immediate intervention in ensuring a permanent solution to the issue by engaging with Colombo.
Inputs IANS