MADURAI: The release of 38 Tamil Nadu fishermen from Sri Lankan custody based on an order from the court in the Island Nation on Thursday gave aggrieved families of the fishermen in Rameswaram a big sigh of relief.

The 38 fishers were among 64 fishermen arrested by the Sri Lankan Navy last month.

NJ Bose, president, Ramanathapuram District All Mechanised Boats Fishermen Association, thanked the state and the central governments for the release. The authorities should deploy Coast Guard to patrol along the boundary line, he added. Thanking the government, P Jesuraja, secretary of the Association, sought release of fishing boats too.