From rxpgnews.com
77 Indian fishermen killed by Sri Lankan Navy
By IANS,
May 9, 2007 - 8:56:09 PM
New Delhi, May 9 - Seventy-seven Indian fishermen had been killed by the Sri Lankan Navy in the last 16 years and New Delhi is taking steps to control such incidents, parliament was informed Wednesday.
'During the period from 1991 to mid-April 2007, 77 fishermen of Tamil Nadu have been killed in such incidents,' Defence Minister A.K. Antony said in a written reply in the Rajya Sabha.
'The government is aware that a number of fishermen from Tamil Nadu are being attacked and killed by Sri Lankan Navy during the recent years.
'There have been incidents of firing on Indian fishing boats in Palk Bay and Gulf of Mannar area and recently, a slight increase in such incidents has been noticed,' the minister added.
Stating that the Indian government had 'strongly taken up the issue' with its Sri Lankan counterpart, Antony added: 'The need to act with restraint and to treat India's fishermen in a humane manner has been repeatedly emphasized to the government of Sri Lanka.'
The Indian Navy and the Indian Coast Guard had stepped up surveillance and patrolling in the Indian waters of the Palk Bay and the Gulf of Mannar to protect Tamil Nadu fishermen, the minister pointed out.
'Air surveillance is also undertaken. The surveillance mechanisms include coastal patrol, international maritime boundary patrol, air patrol, shallow-water patrol and radar surveillance,' he added.
Antony also pointed out that the Tamil Nadu government provides immediate relief to the family of the deceased fishermen 'according to its norms'.
In addition, if the deceased belonged to the Fishermen Cooperative Society, his family is also provided financial relief under the Fishermen Accident Group Insurance Scheme operated by the Department of Fisheries through the National Federation of Fishermen Cooperative Ltd, the minister said.
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