Centre should protect Tamil Nadu fishermen: Government

Participating, on behalf of TN Chief Minister, O Pannerselvam, in the 27th meeting of the Southern Zonal Council held on Wednesday at Thiruvananthapuram, Srinivasan said. “Incidents of harassment, attack and apprehension of our fishermen by the Sri Lankan Navy continue unabated.” He demanded the Centre to take action for release of the 51 fishermen and 114 boats along with fishing gear currently held in Sri Lankan custody. Srinivasan said, “In order to disseminate information about weather and availability of resources, a satellite based system and a VHF system are essential.”  The government is in the process of implementing a Very High Frequency (VHF) based seamless communication network with World Bank funding under the Coastal Disaster Risk Reduction Programme, he added.