Rameswaram: Sri Lankan Navy personnel allegedly fired several rounds in the air to chase away Indian fishermen and damaged fishing nets in atleast 100 mechanized fishing boats valued several lakhs of rupees in a vicious attack at mid sea near the International Maritime Boundary Line (IMBL) in the wee hours of today. Fishermen, who ventured in more than 300 mechanized fishing boats from Rameswaram fishing jetty yesterday were forced to return with huge loss, said a leader of the local fishermen’s association.
Sri Lankan Navan Patrol boats encircled several fishing boats while they were fishing near the IMBL and detained them at gun point for several hours. After snapping the fishing nets in at least one hundred boats, the Sri Lankan Naval men fired several rounds in the air to scare the fishermen. They also warned the Indian fishermen to leave the zone otherwise serious consequences to be faced, he said. Each fishing boat incurred a loss between Rs 50,000 to Rs one lakh due to the attack, the fishermen alleged. (UNI)