CHENNAI: Tamil Nadu government has expressed concern over a Sri Lankan fisheries bill, saying it was aimed at preventing Indian fishermen from exercising their traditional fishing rights in the Palk Bay. Chief Minister K Palaniswami wrote a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, drawing his attention towards the bill which was “reportedly introduced and passed in the Sri Lankan Parliament.” The CM said it prohibited certain fishing methods, including bottom trawling.
He wrote, “It is widely reported in a section of media that under the provisions of the Fisheries and Aquatic Resource (Amendment) Bill, the fishing trawlers as well as fishing gear used for fishing in the Sri Lankan territorial waters will be confiscated, fishermen imprisoned for two years and huge fine up to 50,000 Lankan Rupees will be imposed. The Palk Bay was a “historic and traditional fishing area” of fishermen from Tamil Nadu, their historical rights were “simply signed away as part of the ill-advised Indo-Sri Lankan agreements of 1974 and 1976 which also unilaterally ceded Katchatheevu to Sri Lanka without having any foresight or concern for the plight of our innocent fishermen.”
Palaniswami said that consequently the right to livelihood of the state's fishermen, who historically and traditionally fish in the Palk Bay continues to be infringed upon by Lankan authorities. “The new bill reportedly introduced and passed by the Parliament of Sri Lanka is another retrograde step taken by the Sri Lankan Government to destroy the already paralysed livelihood of millions of our fishermen,” he said. The CM said passing of the “ill-advised” bill came at a time when the ministers of India and Sri Lanka as well as the Joint Working Group on Fisheries had met only recently to resolve the Indo-Sri Lankan fishermen issues and therefore it was “shocking”.
“The legislation proposed is, in fact, a severe setback to the diplomatic efforts being taken to resolve the issue amicably,” Palaniswami said. “The move by Sri Lankan Government to introduce the bill at this crucial juncture of transition towards a permanent solution is nothing but a harsh step to undermine the diplomatic efforts being undertaken by the Government of India to sort out the sensitive issue.”
