Families of fishermen and local people protested on Sunday at Jegathapattinam in Tamil Nadu’s Pudukottai district over the Sri Lankan Navy arresting 14 fishermen and seizing their mechanised boats.

The fishermen were arrested on Saturday night.

K.R. Manikantan, fisherman leader of Jagathapattinam while speaking to IANS, said, “On a daily basis our brethren are getting arrested by the Sri Lankan Navy and people are now worried about entering seas for fishing and to carry out their routine means of livelihood. Both the state and Central governments are turning a blind eye to the grave situation being faced by us.”

The fishermen’s leader further said, “Three mechanised boats were impounded by the Sri Lankan Navy. Even if the fishermen are released after some days of judicial custody in Sri Lanka, our boats will not be released. The boats are then attached by the Lankan government. This is making life miserable for the fishermen fraternity of Tamil Nadu.”

He said that the fishermen and family members would block the roads and disrupt traffic as a protest against the arrest of the 14 fishermen.

The fishermen were arrested by the Sri Lankan Navy for allegedly crossing the International Maritime Boundary Line (IMBL) and fishing near Neduntheevu in the Palk Strait.

Their three boats were also impounded. The arrested fishermen along with 49 others had gone into the sea from Jegathapattinam around 7 a.m. on Saturday.

The arrested fishermen are, Pradeep, Ranjith, Prabakaran and Ajith who were on a boat owned by Mahadevan; Vishwa, Anandaraj, Anandababu, Kubendran and Sekar who were on a boat owned by Senthilkumar; and Manikandan, Muthukumar, Sellathambi, Selvam and Suresh who were on a boat owned by Manikandan.

The Tamil Nadu coastal police officers said that the arrested fishermen were taken to Kankesanthurai naval base in Sri Lanka.

It may be recalled that around 84 fishermen from Tamil Nadu are in the custody of Sri Lankan authorities. The arrests have led to protests erupting in coastal districts of Tamil Nadu like Ramanathapuram, Nagapattinam and Pudukottai.