Indian, Lankan fishermen talks underway

With an aim of resolving the vexed issue of fishing rights in the Palk Straits, representatives of fishermen associations and officials of India and Sri Lanka are meeting here today.

A total of 26 persons from India and 20 from Sri Lanka are participating in the meeting, official sources said.

The meeting, aimed to find a solution to the dispute over fishing in the Palk Strait, which had seen Tamil Nadu fishermen coming under alleged attacks and detentions by Lankan Navy frequently, was earlier scheduled to be held on January 20.

But it was postponed for today after Sri Lanka sought time to finalise the list of representatives for the meeting.

Sri Lanka accuses Tamil Nadu fishermen of straying into their territorial waters, while the latter maintain that they were only fishing in their traditional areas, especially around Katchatheevu, an islet ceded by India to Colombo four decades ago.

The two countries had decided to release over 400 fishermen, in the custody of each other, prior to the meeting.