The Sri Lankan navy apprehended 13 Indian fishermen along with two boats for allegedly fishing in Sri Lankan territorial waters in the seas of Katchatheevu on Thursdaymorning. The fishermen were later produced in a court and remanded to custody. With this incident a total of 84 Indian fishermen and 159 boats, apprehended since November, 2017, continue to remain in Sri Lankan custody. On Thursday there were also reports of Sri Lankan navy causing damages to fishing boats and implements belonging to fishermen from the state. Meanwhile chief minister Edappadi K.Palaniswamy wrote to prime minister Narendra Modi seeking his personal intervention to secure the release of all the fishermen and boats. All the 84 fishermen apprehended along with 14 fishing trawlers in 8 incidents recently were fishing in their traditional fishing waters of Palk Bay, Palaniswamy claimed. Recalling that the late leader J.Jayalalithaa had challenged the Indo-Sri Lankan Agreement of 1974 in the Supreme Court of India, Palaniswamy requested the Centre not to treat the issue of IMBL (International Maritime Boundary Line) as settled. He said the state government is committed to take all possible steps with the support of the Centre to diversify trawl fishing in the Palk Bay to deep sea fishing as a way forward to put an end to the sufferings of our fishermen in the Palk Bay.