Sri Lankan court’s exorbitant fine will paralyse Tamilnadu fisher folks

The Sri Lankan Navy arrested 12 fishermen from aruvaikulam in Tuticorin district and imprisoned them in Puttalam jail after seizing their fishing boat. In a recent court hearing, the Sri Lankan court imposed a fine of Rs. 1.5 crore (Rs. 42 lakhs in Indian value) on each fisherman, with a six-month prison sentence if the fine is not paid. This judgment has been met with shock and concern, as it severely impacts the fishermen’s livelihood and is seen as an extreme punishment.
It is an unimaginable attack that the fishermen who earn their livelihood through daily wage labor have to pay a fine of Rs 42 lakh each. It has the effect of provoking the fishermen of Tamil Nadu. There is a doubt that the Sri Lankan government is taking up an alternative plan to freeze the fishermen's livelihood through fines that cannot be paid even after working all their lives.
The central government should immediately convene a meeting of all party leaders. Direct negotiations with the Sri Lankan government should be held to protect the fishing rights of Tamil Nadu fishermen who earn millions of crores of foreign exchange. Immediate steps should be taken to get the Sri Lankan government to take a humane perspective on the issue of fishermen and to withdraw the law imposing imprisonment and fines on Tamil Nadu fishermen. A bilateral joint committee should be convened.
As an urgent measure, the central government should immediately intervene and protect the fishermen of Tamil Nadu, who have been fined a huge amount, from the case through the embassy and protect them from paying the fine.
The fishing community of Tamil Nadu is waiting with longing that Prime Minister Narendra Modi will do the needful.