In a huge relief to the Tamil fishermen, the Sri Lankan government has ordered for the release of the boats that have been in their custody since 2014, India Today reported. Indian fishermen have been demanding the release of the boats in the Sri Lankan custody for a long time now, the report said.
174 boats have been taken into Sri Lankan custody from 2014 to June, 2018. Five trawler owners have been summoned to the Sri Lankan court for illegal fishing and crossing the international maritime borderline, these five trawler owners will have to assemble as per the earlier order and the fate of their boats will be decided by the Sri Lankan court.
Most of the trawlers belong to fishermen from Pudhukottai, Nagapattanam, Ramanathapuram, Karaikal, Tanjore.
Based on the order, 50 boats were released on Wednesday and 27 more boats are likely to be relased on Thursday. By Saturday all boats need to be handed over to the Sri Lankan external ministry, said the Attorney General of Sri Lanka today.
The United States has told Sri Lanka that the disposition of the Iranian naval vessel IRIS Bushehr and its crew is a matter for Colombo to resolve under its own laws and international obligations, while signalling it is in active talks with Sri Lanka to contain Iran’s threat to US interests.
The Editor, of Lankaenews website Sandaruwan Senadheera was arrested at the Bandaranaike International Airport while returning from UK.
A QR Code for fuel distribution for vehicles has been implemented from today.
Leave Comments