he Sri Lankan parliament has passed a bill against fishermen crossing the border. The bill has been moved to the fisheries department of Sri Lanka. The bill states that fishermen arrested for banned fishing in Sri Lankan territory will be subjected to more stringent punishments. Fishermen will have to pay a fine of upto 50 million Sri Lankan rupees (50 lakh Indian rupees). The bill also states that if the fine isn’t paid within a month of the boat and fishermen being captured, the boat will be disposed of by the Sri Lankan government. The stringent law aims at stopping fishermen from crossing international borders and indulging in fishing on international borders. Sri Lanka’s Fisheries Minister Mahendra Ameravera presented the bill in the parliament. The bill was unanimously passed after a long debate. The Indian fishermen are opposing the law and fishermen leader Jesu said, This is like strangling Tamil Fishermen. We have been trying to seek the Centre’s support to prevent Sri Lankan government from passing such a bill, but now this decision of the Sri Lankan government is disappointing. Tamil Nadu fishermen labour association leader Senthil said, “Modi government with a view of developing corporate companies is destroying fishermen and their livelihood. We have been bringing this issue to the notice of the state and the central government a lot many times, but there has been no action. Fishermen leader Emerit said, This new act will lead to the destruction of the fishing community and the members of this community will have to migrate to other states or regions for other jobs. We will bring all the fishermen in the country and protest against the injustice that has been showcased against us. At present, there are 133 Indian fishermen and 185 trawlers in Sri Lankan custody.