Retrieval of Katchchatheevu is the only permanent solution to T.N. fishermen's woes, reiterates CM Stalin
Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M.K. Stalin on Wednesday (May 28, 2025) said that retrieving Katchchatheevu from Sri Lanka could be the only permanent solution to the issues faced by fishermen in the State. He also recalled the recent special resolution adopted by the Tamil Nadu Assembly, insisting on the retrieval of the islet from the neighbouring island nation.
'Over the past four years, 1,383 fishermen have been arrested by the Sri Lankan Navy and 185 boats confiscated in 97 incidents. I have written 76 letters to the Prime Minister and the Union Minister for External Affairs, requesting to secure the release of the arrested fishermen and their boats,' Mr. Stalin said, while addressing a government function at Tiruvottiyur near Chennai.
Whenever he has met the Prime Minister and the Union Minister for External Affairs, he has raised these issues with them, Mr. Stalin said, and underlined the efforts of the MPs from the DMK and its allies in urging the Union government on this issue in Parliament.
'Only because we kept raising this issue, 1,354 fishermen have been released so far. We have been continuously taking steps to bring back the remaining 29 fishermen. The Sri Lankan government has not released 229 boats that have been confiscated since 2018,' Mr. Stalin said.
While efforts, including a political campaign to retrieve Katchatheevu from Sri Lanka, were on, Mr. Stalin said on the other hand, the government has provided aid to the affected owners of boats — ₹5 lakh each to 129 owners of mechanised boats and ₹1.5 lakh to 26 owners of country craft. The aid has since been increased to ₹6 lakh and then to ₹8 lakh, he said.
Projects inaugurated
During the event, the Chief Minister inaugurated 13 projects that have been completed at a total cost of ₹596 crore and launched special programmes for the welfare of fishermen in Palk Bay. He launched 'Alaigal' to provide micro loans to women groups and also began the distribution of welfare measures to the tune of ₹10 crore to over 2,200 beneficiaries.
Mr. Stalin said that of the seven fishing harbours that were to be established at a total cost of ₹258 crore, four were completed and have come into use, while steps were on to complete the remaining projects.
Ministers Anitha R. Radhakrishnan and P.K. Sekarbabu; North Chennai MP Kalanidhi Veeraswamy; legislators K.P. Shankar, S. Sudharsanam, R.D. Shekar, Thayagam Kavi, Durai Chandrasekar, Katharbatcha Muthuramalingam, M.K. Mohan, Joseph Samuel, J.J. Ebenezer, Idream R. Murthy; and senior officials were present.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Economic Times
42 minutes ago
- Economic Times
Indian defence delegation meets French officials in Paris; Rafale marine programme formally launched
ANI Indian defence delegation meets French officials in Paris; Rafale marine programme formally launched An Indian defence delegation led by Joint Secretary and Acquisition Manager (Maritime Systems) Dinesh Kumar met with French defence officials at the Paris Air Show on Thursday. The French side was headed by Lt Gen Gael Diaz De Tuesta, Director General of Armament. According to French defence officials, the meeting between the two sides also marked the formal launch of the Rafale marine programme, which already equips the Indian Air Force. Meanwhile, Chief of Naval Staff Admiral Dinesh Kumar Tripathi on Thursday attended the 12th Key Leader Engagement, which was hosted virtually by US Navy's Pacific fleet Admiral Stephen T. Koehler. Admiral Tripathi highlighted his vision on "achieving maritime security in the Indo-Pacific through innovation and technology" in the Key Leader Engagement on Wednesday, which involved 19 nations. The Indian Navy, in a post on X, said, "Adm Dinesh K Tripathi, CNS, attended the 12th Key Leader Engagement hosted virtually by Adm Stephen T Koehler, @USPacificFleet, on Jun 25, involving 19 nations. CNS highlighted his vision on 'Achieving Maritime Security in the Indo-Pacific Through Innovation and Technology."Earlier, on June 13, Admiral Tripathi said that Operation Sindoor is on a pause, but it is an operation in progress. Speaking to ANI, Navy Chief Admiral Dinesh Kumar Tripathi said, "Operation Sindoor is under pause; it is still underway. As a naval chief, I will reserve my comments on this. It's an operation in progress." He also commented on evolving warfare technology, particularly non-contact warfare and counter-drone systems, underscoring their growing importance. On counter-drone systems, he said that non-contact warfare will stay, and this area of weapons and equipment was not catered to 10-12 years ago. "It is undeniable that non-contact warfare is going to stay. In it, drones and loitering munitions, and therefore defence against them in terms of counter-drone systems, there is a whole series of weapons and equipment that one had probably not catered for 10-12 years ago," he said on Thursday. Reinforcing the focus on indigenous defence capabilities, Admiral Dinesh Kumar Tripathi, accompanied by Chairman of Solar Industries India Limited, Satyanarayan Nuwal, reviewed the manufacturing processes of various defence products at the firm's headquarters in Nagpur. Speaking to ANI, the Navy Chief lauded the products and progress made by Solar Industries India Ltd. He added that there needs to be synergy between the public and private sectors, as the latter is new in defence production."It's really eye-opening to see what progress has been made by Solar (Solar Group) in the last 14-15 years. As far as the synergy between the public and private sectors in the defence ecosystem is concerned, it is a must because some public sector companies have been working in this field for many decades, and private companies are relatively new. So there is a need for them to talk to each other and learn from each other," Admiral Tripathi told of Solar Industries India Ltd, Satyanarayan Nuwal, said that they showed the Navy Chief their drones and Unmanned Aerial Systems (UAS) and also showed the Navy officials their Counter-Unmanned Aerial System, Bhargavastra. Talking to ANI, Satyanarayan Nuwal said, "Today, we mainly showed our facility with drones and Unmanned Aerial Systems (UAS). We showed the composite manufacturing unit of UAS. We also showed Bhargavastra (Counter-Unmanned Aerial System) to them... This counter-drone system is a significant thing... Considering present situations, we learnt that the biggest need is for long-range missiles. We have already presented a proposal in this regard..." (ANI)
Time of India
an hour ago
- Time of India
Indian defence delegation meets French officials in Paris; Rafale marine programme formally launched
An Indian defence delegation met with French officials at the Paris Air Show, formally launching the Rafale marine programme. Simultaneously, Admiral Dinesh Kumar Tripathi attended a US Navy-hosted Key Leader Engagement, advocating for maritime security through innovation. He also reviewed indigenous defence manufacturing at Solar Industries, emphasizing public-private synergy and the growing importance of counter-drone systems. Tired of too many ads? Remove Ads Tired of too many ads? Remove Ads Tired of too many ads? Remove Ads An Indian defence delegation led by Joint Secretary and Acquisition Manager (Maritime Systems) Dinesh Kumar met with French defence officials at the Paris Air Show on French side was headed by Lt Gen Gael Diaz De Tuesta, Director General of to French defence officials, the meeting between the two sides also marked the formal launch of the Rafale marine programme , which already equips the Indian Air Chief of Naval Staff Admiral Dinesh Kumar Tripathi on Thursday attended the 12th Key Leader Engagement, which was hosted virtually by US Navy's Pacific fleet Admiral Stephen T. Tripathi highlighted his vision on "achieving maritime security in the Indo-Pacific through innovation and technology" in the Key Leader Engagement on Wednesday, which involved 19 Indian Navy , in a post on X, said, "Adm Dinesh K Tripathi, CNS, attended the 12th Key Leader Engagement hosted virtually by Adm Stephen T Koehler, @USPacificFleet, on Jun 25, involving 19 nations. CNS highlighted his vision on 'Achieving Maritime Security in the Indo-Pacific Through Innovation and Technology."Earlier, on June 13, Admiral Tripathi said that Operation Sindoor is on a pause, but it is an operation in to ANI, Navy Chief Admiral Dinesh Kumar Tripathi said, "Operation Sindoor is under pause; it is still underway. As a naval chief, I will reserve my comments on this. It's an operation in progress."He also commented on evolving warfare technology, particularly non-contact warfare and counter-drone systems, underscoring their growing counter-drone systems, he said that non-contact warfare will stay, and this area of weapons and equipment was not catered to 10-12 years ago."It is undeniable that non-contact warfare is going to stay. In it, drones and loitering munitions, and therefore defence against them in terms of counter-drone systems, there is a whole series of weapons and equipment that one had probably not catered for 10-12 years ago," he said on the focus on indigenous defence capabilities, Admiral Dinesh Kumar Tripathi, accompanied by Chairman of Solar Industries India Limited , Satyanarayan Nuwal, reviewed the manufacturing processes of various defence products at the firm's headquarters in to ANI, the Navy Chief lauded the products and progress made by Solar Industries India Ltd. He added that there needs to be synergy between the public and private sectors, as the latter is new in defence production."It's really eye-opening to see what progress has been made by Solar (Solar Group) in the last 14-15 years. As far as the synergy between the public and private sectors in the defence ecosystem is concerned, it is a must because some public sector companies have been working in this field for many decades, and private companies are relatively new. So there is a need for them to talk to each other and learn from each other," Admiral Tripathi told of Solar Industries India Ltd, Satyanarayan Nuwal, said that they showed the Navy Chief their drones and Unmanned Aerial Systems (UAS) and also showed the Navy officials their Counter-Unmanned Aerial System, to ANI, Satyanarayan Nuwal said, "Today, we mainly showed our facility with drones and Unmanned Aerial Systems (UAS). We showed the composite manufacturing unit of UAS. We also showed Bhargavastra (Counter-Unmanned Aerial System) to them... This counter-drone system is a significant thing... Considering present situations, we learnt that the biggest need is for long-range missiles. We have already presented a proposal in this regard..." (ANI)
United News of India
an hour ago
- United News of India
Cooperation is the soul of India's way of life: Amit Shah
Mumbai, June 20 (UNI) Cooperation is the soul of India's way of life, said Union Minister for Cooperation Amit Shah in Mumbai on Friday. He was speaking at the 'Sahakar Se Samriddhi' National Symposium organized at Hotel Fairmont today. Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, Cooperation Minister Babasaheb Patil, Agriculture Minister Adv. Manikrao Kokate and several others were present. Shah said that UN has declared 2025 as the 'International Year of Cooperatives'. Prime Minister Narendra Modi took a historic step by establishing a separate Ministry of Cooperatives in the country. Now the aim is to establish two lakh new Primary Agricultural Credit Societies (PACS) in the country, he said. He further said that information about cooperative societies in every village across the country has been collected through a digital database, and Maharashtra, Goa and Karnataka have made remarkable achievements in the cooperative sector. PACS societies will now not be limited to agriculture alone but will operate in 22 new service sectors. These include Jan Aushadhi Kendras, gas distribution, petrol pumps, railway ticketing services, taxi services. In the 'National Taxi' initiative, the taxi drivers will be the owners of the vehicle and their profits will be deposited directly in their bank accounts, he said. This initiatives will create new employment opportunities for women and youth, and will boost the rural economy. The country is moving towards a new era of cooperation said Shah. Speaking on occasion, Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis said that Maharashtra has successfully implemented various schemes in rural areas through PACS and FPOs (Farmer Producer Organizations). These schemes have given a boost to employment generation and have provided a market chain to farmers. Maharashtra has fulfilled the objectives of the central government more efficiently, Fadnavis said. He further said that Maharashtra has a 120-year tradition of cooperation and this historical land is to celebrate the International Year of Cooperation. UNI SP RN
