Sri Lankan Navy arrests 12 Nagapattinam fishermen

Twelve fishermen from Tamil Nadu’s Nagapattinam district were apprehended by the Sri Lankan Navy for allegedly crossing the maritime boundary and fishing in Sri Lankan waters on Monday. The fishermen, who had departed from Akkaraipettai fishing harbor the previous night, were arrested while fishing southeast of Kodiyakarai.

In response, their counterparts in Rameswaram staged a protest at the Pamban road bridge, demanding the Indian government’s immediate intervention for the release of the detained fishermen, reported PTI. Demonstrators, including mechanised boat operators, country boat fishers, and their families, also called for a halt to the frequent arrests and the seizure of their fishing vessels, which has reportedly become a regular occurrence in the Palk Bay region. Traffic in Pamban was brought to a standstill due to the scale of the protest.

This is the second protest organised by the fishermen after the one day-long fast on October 3. The fishermen took to a fast to protest against the Centre's handling of the conflict between Tamil Nadu fishermen and Sri Lankan Navy.