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Friday, July 11, 2008 - 5.27 GMT |
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Tamil Nadu govt to track movement of
trawlers |
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The Tamil Nadu Government is working on a
technical system to track and communicate
with Indian fishing trawlers, with the aim
of preventing them from straying into Sri
Lankan waters and avoiding incidents
involving the Sri Lankan Navy or the LTTE,
Indian Express reported.
The capture of the LTTE’s Vidathalthivu
naval cum logistical facility, expected in
the next few weeks, could only have a
“partial” impact on the smuggling between
the Tamil Nadu coast and Rameswaram for the
LTTE, the source said.
The source, however, maintained that
smuggling was only a small part of the
problem in the Palk Strait. The main problem
is poaching for fish in Sri Lankan waters
near the shoreline in strategically
sensitive areas of Mannar and south Jaffna.
Since TN and Sri Lankan fishermen have, from
time immemorial, fished in each other’s
waters in this narrow sea, TN fishermen do
not think it is wrong to fish near Delft or
Thalaimannar. But this gives a headache to
the government’s on the two sides, as they
have to safeguard or respect the sovereign
rights over territorial waters.
However, the Indian, Tamil Nadu and Sri
Lankan authorities are working together with
some understanding, within the constraints
imposed by security imperatives and notions
of sovereignty. They are, by and large,
tolerant and kind to the straying or
intruding fishermen. Since 2006, the Sri
Lankans have released 49 Tamil Nadu boats
and 285 fishermen, within days of their
capture, although in the past one year
alone, 6,839 TN trawlers had intruded
virtually up to the Sri Lankan shoreline.
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