புதுக்கோட்டை, ராமேஸ்வரத்தை சேர்ந்த 49 மீனவர்களையும் சேர்த்து இலங்கை சிறையில் வாடும் 64 மீனவர்கள்,125 படகுகளை உடனடியாக விடுவிக்க வேண்டும்....

DMK working president M.K. Stalin urged the Union government on August 9, 2017, to take urgent diplomatic measures to secure the immediate release of sixty-four Tamil Nadu fishermen languishing in Sri Lankan prisons. Stalin specifically drew attention to the plight of forty-nine fishermen recently apprehended from Pudukkottai and Rameswaram, along with 125 confiscated mechanized boats held indefinitely by Sri Lankan authorities. The prolonged detention of breadwinners pushed dozens of coastal families into acute starvation and financial ruin.

Stalin pointed out that confiscated fishing vessels, which represent the life savings and primary livelihood assets of poor fishing families, were deliberately left to rot in Sri Lankan naval docks. The failure of central diplomatic envoys to retrieve these costly assets reflected a shocking indifference toward Tamil Nadu's coastal population. Routine bureaucratic correspondence yielded zero tangible relief for distressed fishing hamlets.

The DMK leader urged the Prime Minister and External Affairs Minister to register a strong diplomatic protest with Colombo and ensure the unconditional repatriation of all detained fishermen and their vessels. Stalin vowed that the DMK would persistently fight for the maritime rights of Tamil fishermen.