Sri Lanka's navy caught 19 fishermen and two boats from Rameswaram in Tamil Nadu. In the Palk Bay Sea, the fishermen were caught while they were fishing near Delft Island. These fishermen were caught: Jolson, McDon, Bismar, Muniyasamy, Shekhar, Sesu Raja, Flower Sun, Prashant, Arogya Prabhakaran, Selva Thomas, Selvaraj, Anton Sasikumar, Oswald, Bloom, and Orissa. For further inquiry, the Sri Lankan Navy took the fishermen to Kangesanthurai Naval Camp. INT.TN 10 MM 324 and INT.TN 10 MM 925, two fishing boats, were also taken.
The Sri Lankan Navy has been arresting Indian fishermen on a regular basis, and this latest event makes both the Central government and the Tamil Nadu government very worried. Responding, fishermen in Rameswaram went on a symbolic strike and made a list of demands, such as the release and restoration of seized boats, suitable compensation for damaged boats, and permission for rescue teams to get boats held by the Sri Lankan Navy. Additionally, they asked the central government to let a relief team go to Sri Lanka and get the 10 boats that the Sri Lankan Navy had freed.
As a result of the arrest and seizing of Indian fishermen by the Sri Lankan Navy, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Ranil Wickremesinghe talked about the problem in July last year. Additionally, the Rameswaram All Boats Fishermen's Association pointed out that the Sri Lankan government still has over 150 mechanised boats from Tamil Nadu that were taken by the Sri Lankan Navy between 2018 and 2024. The fishermen are demanding that both the national government and the state governments step in right away to fix their problems.
(Image Source: multiple agencies)
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