Chennai, Aug 7 (IANS) Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M.K. Stalin has written to External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar, urging immediate diplomatic intervention to secure the release of 14 fishermen arrested by the Sri Lankan Navy.
In his letter, CM Stalin said that the Sri Lankan Navy had apprehended 14 Indian fishermen and seized their mechanised fishing boat, along with an unregistered country boat, during the early hours of Tuesday.
He brought this development to the special attention of the External Affairs Minister, expressing deep concern over the recurring arrests of Tamil Nadu fishermen.
Following detention, the 14 fishermen, hailing from Tamil Nadu’s Ramanathapuram district, were taken to the Sri Lankan Navy camp in Puttalam for interrogation.
“This is the 17th such incident in 2025 alone,” the Chief Minister noted, adding that the repeated apprehension of Indian fishermen despite several diplomatic appeals by the Union Government to the Sri Lankan authorities is a matter of grave concern.
He said such actions by the Sri Lankan Navy are not only unjust but also jeopardise the livelihoods of Tamil Nadu’s coastal communities.
Highlighting the current status, CM Stalin pointed out that a total of 237 fishing boats and 80 fishermen from Tamil Nadu remain in Sri Lankan custody.
He condemned the denial of Tamil Nadu fishermen’s traditional rights to fish in their customary waters and emphasised that fishing is their sole source of livelihood.
“I wish to express my regret that the fundamental rights of these fishermen to continue their traditional occupation in historic fishing waters are being continuously violated,” CM Stalin stated in the letter.
The Chief Minister urged the Centre to take swift and decisive diplomatic steps to ensure the immediate release of all Tamil Nadu fishermen currently detained in Sri Lanka.
Apart from arrests, the Sri Lankan authorities have been seizing high-powered fishing boats and, in some cases, undertaking procedures to nationalise them — a move that has severely impacted the livelihoods of the coastal fishing communities in Tamil Nadu.
–IANS
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