Nine more Tamil Nadu fishermen arrested by Lankan Navy off Jaffna coast

Rameswaram: Nine Tamil Nadu fishermen were on Thursday arrested by Sri Lankan Navy while allegedly fishing off Jaffna coast in the island republic, even before 96 others detained recently and set free by Lankan courts in the past two days could return home. [caption id=“attachment_2560508” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] Representational image. AFP[/caption] The fishermen hailing from Jegathapattinam in Pudukottai District were arrested for fishing in Lankan waters in the sea off Analaitheevu near Jaffna in the wee hours today, a state fisheries official said. The Lankan naval personnel seized the fishermen’s boat, Jegathapattinam Assitant Director of the Fisheries Shekar said, adding all the nine had been taken to Jaffna. The latest detention comes close on the heels of the arrest of four others earlier this week and release of 96 of the 99 fishermen arrested on different dates. While 32 fishermen were released on 5 April as many as 64 were set free yesterday by courts in Sri Lanka. Chief Minister Jayalalithaa had only yesterday shot off yet another letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, requesting him to act decisively to find tangible mechanisms for permanently resolving this vexatious issue affecting the livelihood of lakhs of state fishermen. She had also reiterated the need to restore the traditional fishing rights of Indian fishermen in the Palk Bay by annulling the Indo-Sri Lankan agreements of 1974 and 1976 ceding Katchatheevu islet to the neighbouring nation.