Hours after the Sri Lankan Navy arrested eight Tamil Nadu fishermen and seized their two boats, Chief Minister Jayalalithaa urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to secure the release of a total of 37 fishermen and 55 boats, including those held on Sunday.
Stating that eight fishermen had set out for fishing in two mechanised boats from Ramanathapuram and Pudukkottai districts, she said they were apprehended by the Sri Lankan Navy in the early hours of on Sunday. “The repeated attempts by the Sri Lankan Navy to prevent the exercise of the traditional rights by apprehensions, arrests and assaults need to be brought to an end through concerted efforts by the Government of India,” she said in a letter to Modi. “May I request you to proactively initiate an appropriate set of actions that will bring about a permanent solution to this issue,” she said.