Saturday, 22nd November 2014
Indian External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj has asked fishermen to stop crossing t he International Maritime Boundary Line (IMBL) and poaching in Sri Lankan waters till the government works out a solution to the fishing crisis and secures the release of the 24 fishermen arrested by the Sri Lankan Navy. “At a two-hour meeting with a 12-member delegation of fishermen in New Delhi on Tuesday evening, she said the fishermen should avoid muddying the waters by crossing the IMBL and to help the Indian government to resolve the crisis,” said senior BJP leader D. Kuppuramu, who was a member of the delegation.
He heads a four-member team to study the problems faced by the fishermen and said the government was committed to finding a lasting solution.
Mr. Kuppuramu said Ms. Swaraj also assured the delegation that the Government would take steps to resume the talks between the fishermen of the two countries. The first round of talks in Chennai in January and the second round held in Colombo in May ended in deadlock.
He said the government was in a position to secure the release of 24 fishermen and 79 boats impounded by the Sri Lankan Government but the fishermen complicated the matter by poaching again i n Sri Lankan waters leading to their arrest.The delegation of fishermen’s leaders from Rameswaram, Nagapattinam, Pudukottai, Thanjavur and Puducherry were convinced that the Indian Government was genuinely trying to address their problems.
Fishermen leader U.Arulanandham said Ms. Swaraj indicated that money was not a problem, and the Government would build the infrastructure for fishermen to take up deep sea fishing.
Another fishermen’s leader P. Sesu Raja, a member of the delegation, expressed satisfaction with the talks. “For the first time, we could discuss our problems with the External Affairs Minister,” he said.
(Source: The Hindu)
From : Daily Mirror e-paper http://epaper.dailymirror.lk/epaper/viewer.aspx
