Help free Tamil Nadu men, boats, Minister urges Sushma

The Minister also raised the issue of the death of a fisherman, Bridgo, during his meeting with Swaraj. “We have requested the minister to make fishing a peaceful affair in the Palk Bay, besides providing immunity to the fishermen from arrests and killings,” Jayakumar told reporters after meeting the Union Minister here. He said Swaraj has assured him that such untoward incidents would not occur in the future. 

“The Minister has promised to release Rs 250 crore for the Tuna fishing project in Tamil Nadu. The state government will also contribute an equal amount,” he said. Jayakumar also met Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley and sought financial relief for the drought situation in Tamil Nadu, besides seeking the Rs 5,816 crore “dues” to the state.

Meanwhile in Chennai, Union Commerce and Industries Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said “The fishermen representatives wanted to meet officials of External Affairs Ministry. But the government has made arrangement for them to meet the External Affairs Minister herself.” Speaking to the reporters at the ongoing International Engineering Sourcing Show, she said the Centre is taking efforts at every level to resolve the issue.