Chennai:
Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J. Jayalalithaa has written to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on yet another incident of harassment of fishermen from her state by the Sri Lankan navy. According to her, Sri Lankan navy, on the 26th of this month, "reportedly chased the fishermen near Katchatheevu and cut the ropes and damaged the nets of 10 boats resulting in huge loss to the fishermen".
The Chief Minister, in her letter, argued that "from time immemorial, the fishermen of Tamil Nadu have been traditionally fishing in the waters near Katchatheevu, notwithstanding any geographical or political boundaries" and that, the latest incident of harassment has "shocked and created a psychological fear in the minds of our fishermen".
She wants the Prime Minister to "impress upon Lanka the need to instruct their navy to exercise restraint and refrain from harassing innocent Indian fishermen pursuing their livelihood in their traditional waters."