Sri Lankan navy arrests 21 Tamil Nadu fishermen

Twenty one Tamil Nadu fishermen were on Wednesday arrested by Sri Lankan Navy on charges of crossing the International Maritime Boundary Line, official sources said. 

The three boats of the fishermen, hailing from Pamban and Thangachimadom near Rameswaram, were also seized by the navy personnel, Assistant Director of Fisheries Department D Gopinath said.

The fishermen were arrested while fishing near Katchatheevu, an islet ceded to Sri Lanka by India by two agreements of 1974 and 1976. Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Jayalalithaa had earlier this month written to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, requesting him to act decisively to find tangible mechanisms to permanently resolve this vexatious issue, affecting the livelihood of lakhs of fishermen of the state.

She had also reiterated the need to restore the traditional fishing rights of Indian fishermen in the Palk Bay by annulling the Indo-Sri Lankan agreements.