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Stalin writes to PM Modi over reports of Sri Lanka's decision to auction TN fishing boats
Tamil Nadu CM Mk Stalin urged the Centre to “register its disapproval in strongest possible terms at appropriate level and to prevail upon the Sri Lankan Govt to recall the advertisement published” in this regard.
Tamil Nadu chief minister MK Stalin on Tuesday wrote to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, urging him to register its protest against the Sri Lankan government’s decision to reportedly auction fishing boats belonging to the state.
He urged the Centre to "register its disapproval in strongest possible terms at appropriate level and to prevail upon the Sri Lankan Govt to recall the advertisement published for auctioning TN fishing boats on which they do not have any legal rights".
Stalin said Lanka’s department of fisheries and aquatic resources has initiated the process of auctioning 105 such fishing boats that have been in the custody of the neighbouring nation. The auctioning is slated to take place between February 7 and 11.
The chief minister said the development came at a time when the Indo-Sri Lankan Joint Working Group on Fisheries is set to meet again soon. The move has created alarm and distrust among Tamil Nadu’s fishermen, he added.
He said the state government, as directed by the Centre, had issued orders to deputing officials to oversee the disposal of 125 unsalvageable fishing boats and transfer of its proceeds to their owners in Tamil Nadu.
