Act swiftly to end problems of TN fishermen, Chief Minister writes to Modi

In a demi-official letter to Modi, he said “in the light of the sensitive nature of the issue,” appropriate mechanisms should be put in place to bring about an end to the sufferings of our fishermen.’’ “In particular, the 10 fishermen on board the mechanised fishing boat in distress apprehended today (Tuesday), must be released without filing of any cases and going through a long winded legal process, on humanitarian grounds,” he added. 

The boat’s engine reportedly developed a technical snag and the boat was drifting. Three fishermen from another fishing boat boarded the stricken boat to rectify the engine defect, when all 10 of them were apprehended by the Sri Lankan Navy and taken to Kankesanthurai in Sri Lanka, he added. 

“Under the internationally accepted laws of the sea, such vessels in distress have to be treated in a humanitarian fashion’’, he said. He also said the Indian government should not treat the International Maritime Boundary Line (IMBL) with Sri Lanka as a settled question as the constitutionality of the 1974 and 1976 agreements  have been challenged on extremely valid and legal grounds by late leader J Jayalalithaa in her personal capacity in the Supreme Court and the state government had also impleaded itself in this case.