Sri Lankan Navy chases away 3,000 TN fishermen, snaps fishing-nets
(Sourced from PTI)
Over 3,000 Indian fishermen from Tamil Nadu were chased away by the Sri Lankan Navy, who also hurled stones at them and snapped nets of 50 vessels for fishing in their territorial waters. Rameswaram Fishermen Association President, P Sesuraja, said fishermen from Rameswaram and Mandapam regions had ventured into the sea yesterday morning in over 700 mechanized boats when the incident occurred.
Sesuraja said the fishermen were near Katchatheevu ( an uninhabited island administered by Sri Lanka) when Sri Lankan naval personnel arrived there and threatened them. They also pelted stones at the fishermen, he alleged, adding all of them returned today morning without a catch. Sesuraja further urged the Center to take the issue with the Sri Lankan Government to prevent recurrence of such incidents.
Referring to the 1974 Indo-Sri Lanka agreement on fishing, Sesuraja claimed they had rights to fish in Katchatheevu, as per the terms in the agreement. Earlier on Tuesday, 17 fishermen from Ramanathapuram and Pudukottai districts were arrested by Sri Lankan Navy for fishing off Neduntheevu.
