Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Edappadi Palaniswami on Friday wrote a letter to PM Narendra Modi seeking his intervention in securing the release of five fishermen detained by the Iranian Coast Guard for allegedly violating the country’s maritime boundary.
Pointing out that the fishermen had been detained for more than a month, he said that their essential supplies had finished.
“The fishermen were reportedly detained in a fishing boat for more than a month and they do not have access to basic amenities and their essential supplies have exhausted,” he mentioned in the letter.
CM Edappadi explained in the letter that many of the detained fishermen’s visas will expire in a couple of months putting them in a grave spot. He also mentioned that the families of the fishermen would be severely affected if they were not brought back immediately, as they had gone abroad to earn their livelihood.
“The prolonged incarceration of these poor fishermen, who went abroad for earning their livelihood, would severely affect the the morale and survival of their families and dependents in India,” the CM said.
He further mentioned that the the families of these detained fishermen are anxious about their safety and requested the PM’s personal intervention.
“I request you to instruct the ambassador of India to Iran to provide them essential supplies immediately and take legal measures to secure the immediate release of these poor and innocent fishermen from Tamil Nadu,” the CM said in the letter.
It was on September 1 that the fishermen, five from Ramanathapuram district and one from Thoothukudi district, were detained by the Iranian Coast Guard, while they were operating from the fishing base in Dubai.
After being detained, the fishermen were taken to Kish Island, the CM said in the letter to Modi.