MADURAI: Three Tamil Nadu fishermen were apprehended by the Sri Lankan Navy on grounds of trespassing into the territorial waters of Sri Lanka.

A mechanised boat, on which the fishermen sailed, was also seized from them and detained. The arrests were made on Monday night when those ill-fated fishermen were fishing near Neduntheevu.

The detained boat bore registration –‘IND-TN-10-MM-496’. They set out to sea off Rameswaram on Monday after obtaining permit tokens from the Fisheries Department, sources said.

Condemning the arrest, S Emarit, secretary of Rameswaram All Mechanized Boats Fishermen Association, said the aggrieved families of all detained fishermen, who remain jailed in Sri Lanka, are yet to find a long-term solution to this never-ending crisis.

After a gap of five days during which scores of fisher folks sailed across to Katchatheevu, where they witnessed the annual festival of St Antony’s Shrine, fishing operations resumed off Rameswaram on Monday.

But much to the agony, these three fishermen were caught by the Sri Lankan Navy and detained.

“When we sailed to Katchatheevu on a two-day festival, the Tamil Nadu fishermen led by VP Sesuraja, president of the Association, had a breakfast meeting with Ramalingam Chandrasekar, Minister of Fisheries Aquatic and Ocean Resources of Sri Lanka.

During the schedule, Chandrasekar was told that the TN fishermen had been facing similar problems for nearly forty years now, as many of them were arrested on grounds of cross-border fishing.

Chandrasekar was urged to release the detained TN fishermen and boats from Sri Lanka on humanitarian grounds. They also requested the Sri Lankan Minister to hold bilateral talks with the Indian counterpart to provide a realistic and lasting solution for the welfare of TN fishermen, he said.