Jayalalithaa seeks PM's intervention to resolve fishing dispute with Sri Lanka

Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J. Jayalalithaa on Wednesday urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to find suitable mechanisms to resolve the long pending fishing dispute between India and Sri Lanka.

In a letter to Prime Minister Modi, Jayalalithaa called for the restoration of traditional fishing rights of Tamil fishermen and demanded concrete steps to secure the immediate release of 15 fishermen and 28 boats that are presently in Sri Lankan custody.

"The unjustified denial of the right of our fishermen to eke out their humble livelihood in their traditional waters of the Palk Bay should not be allowed to fester further. I am confident that your government will find suitable mechanisms to resolve this long pending fishing dispute between India and Sri Lanka by retrieving Katchatheevu and restoring the traditional fishing rights of our fishermen," Jayalalithaa said in the letter.

"In the meantime, the immediate issue of the arrest of the fishermen needs to be addressed. I once again, call upon the Government of India to take positive and concrete steps to secure the immediate release of the 15 fishermen and the 28 boats, who were apprehended by the Sri Lankan Navy on September 21 this year and taken to Kankesanthurai, Sri Lanka," she added.