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Indian fishing intrusions worsen under corona cover
Poaching in Sri Lankan waters by Indian fishing vessels has increased alongside the damage done to fishing gear, fisheries groups in the north said on Friday.
Local boats damaged by Indian fishing vessels
In the latest incident on Thursday night, a net worth more than Rs 2.5 million was damaged by Indian intruders in the marine waters off Vadamarachchi.
The president of the Vadamarachchi Fishermens’ Federation, Thomas Anton Santharasa told the Sunday Times, most local fishermen return to the seas to find their nets damaged by Indian fishermen.
He said that last week one Indian trawler had rammed a local fishing craft damaging it and the nets.
Despite assurances from various governments, Indian poaching had not declined.
“Some of our fishermen have now been forced to abandon their work as they are no longer able to mend their nets and repair boats,’’ he said.
He said that the federation represents 700 fishermen from 14 societies and had raised the issue with the new Fisheries Minister Douglas Devananda. A meeting was held with Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa last week, but no remedial measures were taken.
He said the Indian fishermen were coming close to the Sri Lankan shores, but the navy was neither arresting them nor preventing them from intrusions.
The assistant director of the Fisheries Department in Jaffna, J. Sudhakarna told the Sunday Times that reduced surveillance due to the coronavirus situation is causing more Indian poaching.
He said that he would raise the issue with Mr Devananda and other officials.
Navy spokesman, Commander Indika de Silva, said although there was a decline in Indian intruders in March, this has increased in recent weeks due to the coronavirus outbreak.
There are also turmeric smugglers, he said.
Detained Indian fishermen have to be handed over to the fisheries department in the north and produced in court, he said. 
However, due to the coronavirus there is a risk in detaining the Indian intruders and they are capitalising on the situation.
The Sunday Times learns that previous attempts by the navy to drive the fishermen away by firing into the air has been misinterpreted by Indian fishermen who allege attacks.
In one recent incident, an Indian fisherman claimed that he had been fired upon by the navy.
Poaching by Indians in Sri Lankan waters figured during the virtual summit between Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Prime Minister Rajapaksa.
Mr Devananda who joined the summit on Tuesday, told the media that India had called on to continue with the meetings which they had earlier held with the Tamil Nadu Chief Minister to resolve the issue.
In the joint statement, India’s External Affairs Ministry said: “The two leaders also exchanged views on the fishermen-related issues. They agreed to continue and strengthen the ongoing constructive and humanitarian approach to address this issue through existing bilateral mechanisms and instructed relevant officials on both sides to this effect.”
Meanwhile, in a controversial move, the Fisheries Ministry is planning to allow local fishermen to begin trawling, which environmentalists say goes against previous government attempts to ban such destructive fishing methods.