Three Tamil Nadu fishermen arrested by Sri Lankan Navy for intruding into territorial waters

Rameswaram: Three fishermen from Tamil Nadu were arrested by the Sri Lankan Navy for allegedly fishing off Neduntheevu near the Lankan coast, the sixth such incident this month. [caption id=“attachment_3853195” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Representational image. AFP[/caption] The fishermen from Kottaipattinam in Pudukottai district have been taken to Kangesanthurai port, police said. Their boat was also seized for allegedly intruding into  Lankan territory and poaching in their zone, they said. On Friday, eight fishermen from Nagapattinam district were arrested for allegedly fishing off Neduntheevu, while four fishermen from Jagadapattinam in Pudukottai district were arrested on 17 July. On 13 July, seven fishermen from Mandapam were arrested for allegedly fishing in Lankan waters. Tamil Nadu chief minister K Palaniswami has written to Prime Minister Narendra Modi seeking his intervention in finding a permanent solution to the recurring mid-sea arrests. The state government has maintained that restoration of Katchatheevu, an islet ceded to Sri Lanka in the 1970s, was the “only solution” to the vexed fishermen’s issue.