Chennai: The Sri Lankan Navy has reportedly detained 23 Indian fishermen from Pudukottai, Tamil Nadu.
According to Coastal marine police sources, the fishermen are from Kottaipattinam and Jagadhipattanam in the Pudkottai district.
Police sources said that five mechanised boats of the fishermen were also under the custody of the Sri Lankan Navy. The fishermen were taken into custody while they were fishing near the International Maritime Boundary Line (IMBL).
Sri Lankan Naval authorities had confiscated several mechanised boats and even advertised the sale of such confiscated boats, affecting the Indian fishermen badly.
Previously, 15 fishermen from India were detained by Sri Lankan Navy, for allegedly trespassing their territorial waters.
Most of the arrests were occurring near the Palk straight, which is a narrow strip of water separating Tamil Nadu from Sri Lanka, as it is a rich fishing ground for fisherman from both countries.
In one such previous incident one of the Sri Lankan court fixed Rs 1 crore for each as a bail amount to release the 12 fishermen captured.
On the repeated occurrences of the detention of fisherman by the island country, the Tamil Nadu state government had asked the central government to intervene to find a lasting solution to the issue.
Meanwhile, Sri Lanka has instituted an ecological ban on the use of mechanized trawlers for fishing where as Indian fishermen have continued to use the same to make big catches. This has fanned tensions amongst the fishing communities in the two countries.
-IANS Inputs