Sagala to lead expert delegation to India

President Ranil Wickremesinghe has instructed to find a once and for all solution for the problem of Indian fishers poaching in Lankan waters.The President has stated that this problem has been rising intermittently causing embarrassment to the governments of both countries. Therefore attempts to find a final solution should be made, sources close to the President’s office said.

He said that the Indian government too has expressed its willingness to strive for a permanent solution for this problem. He has appointed the Chief of Staff of the President’s Office, Sagala Ratnayake, to lead a Lankan delegation of experts to discuss the matter with the Indian government.

Indian fishermen poaching in Lankan waters using bottom-trawling methods have been a serious concern among Lankan fishermen in recent decades. During the war when northern fishermen were not permitted to go out to sea, Indian fishermen had carte blanch in Lankan waters.

The Sri Lanka Navy arrests the Indian fishers in Lankan waters and there are around 170 Indian fishermen in Lankan prisons for the offence of poaching. Some of them were convicted by Lankan courts recently and some fishermen groups in India have commenced an agitation against it in their country, sources said.

Trawler owners in Tamil Nadu wield considerable influence on the state government which in turn pressures New Delhi.