Families of fishermen and local residents protested on Sunday in Jegathapattinam, Pudukottai district, against the Sri Lankan Navy’s arrest of 14 fishermen and the seizure of their mechanised boats.
The fishermen were detained on Saturday night for allegedly crossing the International Maritime Boundary Line (IMBL) and fishing near Neduntheevu in the Palk Strait. Their three boats were also impounded.
K.R. Manikantan, a local fisherman leader said, “Our brethren are arrested daily by the Sri Lankan Navy, and people are now afraid to go fishing. Both the state and Central governments are ignoring our dire situation.”
He added that even if the fishermen are eventually released, their boats are often not returned and remain confiscated by the Sri Lankan government.
In response, the fishermen and their families plan to block roads and disrupt traffic to protest the arrests. Tamil Nadu coastal police confirmed that the detained fishermen have been taken to the Kankesanthurai naval base in Sri Lanka.
The arrested fishermen include Pradeep, Ranjith, Prabakaran, and Ajith from a boat owned by Mahadevan; Vishwa, Anandaraj, Anandababu, Kubendran, and Sekar from a boat owned by Senthilkumar; and Manikandan, Muthukumar, Sellathambi, Selvam, and Suresh from a boat owned by Manikandan.
Currently, around 84 fishermen from Tamil Nadu are in Sri Lankan custody, leading to widespread protests in coastal districts including Ramanathapuram, Nagapattinam, and Pudukottai.
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