Fishers attacked by Sri Lankan navy had permission till Jan 28: Minister

Of 13 fishers, six were from Karaikal in puducherry and seven from Tamil Nadu. They went into the sea on January 23

Hours after two fishermen from Puducherry were injured after the Sri Lankan Navy opened fire while apprehending a group of fishers early on Tuesday, Puducherry fisheries minister K Lakshminarayanan said that the fishermen had permission to fish in the sea till January 28 and urged the Centre to take steps to stop such attacks.

The incident took place when the fishermen from Karaikal in Puducherry and from Tamil Nadu’s districts of Nagapattinam and Mayiladuthurai were fishing near Neduntheevu (Delft Island) in the Palk Strait (File photo)

“We have received information from the fishermen about their arrest and the attack on them. We will urge the Union Government to take steps to stop such attacks,” the minister said. He said that 13 fishermen – six from Karaikal and the remaining seven from Tamil Nadu – went into the sea on January 23. They had permission to fish till January 28.

The incident took place when the fishermen from Karaikal in Puducherry and from Tamil Nadu’s districts of Nagapattinam and Mayiladuthurai were fishing near Neduntheevu (Delft Island) in the Palk Strait, he said.

“Out of the 13 fishermen who were on board the fishing vessel, two have sustained serious injuries and are currently receiving treatment at the Jaffna Teaching Hospital,” the ministry said. Three fishers were treated for minor injuries.

“The Navy personnel asked the fishermen to surrender but fearing for life, they tried to escape to save themselves and their boats. If they get arrested, their boats will be impounded and they will completely lose their livelihood,” a person in the fishermen community from Nagapattinam said on condition of anonymity. “So the Navy fired at their boats which injured two of them.”

This incident comes a little more than a month after the two sides agreed during Sri Lankan President Anura Kumara Dissanayake’s visit to India last December to avoid “aggressive behaviour or violence” while dealing with fishermen who transgress the maritime boundary.

Sri Lanka’s acting high commissioner in New Delhi was “called in” to the external affairs ministry on Tuesday morning and a “strong protest was lodged over the incident”. India’s high commission in Colombo also raised the matter with Sri Lanka’s foreign ministry.