World Fisheries Day turned out to be a tragedy for 20 fishermen from Pudukkottai after they were arrested by the Sri Lankan Navy in the late hours on Wednesday and sent to prison.
The arrests shook the fishing community in Pudukkottai. It is only recently that 32 fishermen from the region were arrested by the Sri Lankan Navy. These men are still to be released from prison.
As many as 1,500 fishermen from Jegathapattinam in Pudukkottai district ventured into sea in more than 200 boats on Wednesday morning. They were expected to return to shore in the early hours of Thursday to celebrate the World Fisheries Day. According to reports, the Sri Lankan naval personnel surrounded a group of fishermen mid-sea and arrested 20 fishermen. Five boats were also captured.
The rest of the fishermen, who witnessed the incident, fled and reached Jegathapattinam on Thursday morning and narrated the incident to community members.
Meanwhile, the arrested fishermen have been taken to Kangesan port for further investigation. It was the second arrest of Pudukkottai fishermen this month. Earlier, on November 5, 17 fishermen were arrested by Sri Lankan Navy.
On October 14, 14 fishermen were arrested mid-sea. All of them have been lodged in Jaffna prison. With the Wednesday’s arrest, the number of arrested fishermen from the region has risen to 52.
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