HC for CG word on keeping fishermen from crossing IMBL

The Madras High Court Monday directed the Commandant of the Indian Coast Guard or any other competent authority to be present on September 19 to explain the possibilities of alerting Indian fishermen from crossing the international maritime border, particularly that of Sri Lanka.

The officer shall explain as to whether there could be any Navy or Coast Guard ship that can provide signal for a two-way communication with Indian fishing boats through transponders, the court said.

"The additional director of state fisheries department is directed to submit a detailed technical know-how as to how the fishing boat transponders and towers operate. Besides, a report as to whether fishermen of Nagapattinam to Rameswaram regions can be provided transponders and VHF handsets," a division bench of Justice S Manikumar and Justice Subramonium Prasad said.

The bench passed the interim order on a public interest litigation (PIL)moved by Fishermen Care, a fishermen rights organisation, seeking a direction to the Centre to refer all cases of violation of human rights of Indian fishermen by Sri Lanka to the International Court of Justice (ICJ).

When the plea came up, the External Affairs Ministry filed an affidavit submitting that a Joint Working Group (JWG), comprising officials from India and Sri Lanka, have agreed to establish joint patrolling around IMBL by Coast uard/Navy of both the countries for better coordination and monitoring, and stablishment of a hotline connectivity between the respective Coast Guards.

"The hotline has since been established between Coast Guards of both the countries and joint patrolling has been strengthened around the IMBL..," assistant solicitor general Karthikeyan said.

In addition, the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) has been requested to develop transponders for tracking movements of fishing vessels, he said.

The ISRO and the Indian Navy have installed a few transponders on fishing vessels on a trial basis for tracking their movements, Karthikeyan said.

"On successful implementation, it is proposed to install transponders on a large-scale, mainly in fishing boats of states having a close proximity to the neighbouring countries, including Tamil Nadu, so as to locate their movements and prevent cross-border fishing activities," he submitted.

The state government has communicated to the ISRO a list of 1,215 boats for fixing transponders, he added.