Palaniswami says passports of fishermen are in custody of the local employers who are neither allowing them to continue work nor letting them to return to India
Tamil Nadu chief minister Edappadi K Palaniswami on Thursday sought the intervention of PM Modi for the release of 21 fishermen stranded in Iran.
In a letter, the chief minister urged the prime minister to direct the Indian embassy in Iran to take all measures to ensure immediate repatriation of the fishermen.
“I write to bring to your direct attention, the plight of 21 fishermen from Tamil Nadu, who are reportedly stranded in Iran. They are neither allowed to return to India nor allowed to continue fishing for which they were engaged as contract fishing labourers,” Palaniswami said.
The fishermen from Kanyakumari, Tirunelveli and Thoothukudi districts were engaged by Iranian employers Mohammed Shallah and his brothers in three fishing vessels for past six months.
“In the recent past, the Iranian employers did not pay the fishermen their share, as per terms of employment. Hence these fishermen were struggling to make their ends meet as well as unable to send money to their families back home,” he said.
Palaniswami said passports of fishermen are in custody of the local employers who are neither allowing them to continue work nor letting them to return to India.
He noted that the fishermen were chased out of their accommodations and abandoned in the streets without any shelter, food and security.
NO WHERE TO GO
- The fishermen from Tamil Nadu’s Kanyakumari, Tirunelveli and Thoothukudi districts were engaged by Iranian employers Mohammed Shallah and his brothers in three fishing vessels for past six months.
- Iranian employers did not pay them their share, as per terms of employment. Hence these fishermen were struggling to make their ends meet.
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