By Dinasena Ratugamage

More than 20 Indian fishing vessels poaching in the Sri Lankan waters off Kachchathiv Island on Wednesday evening had fled when the Navy arrived, Jaffna fishing association said yesterday.

“About 100 fishermen were in those vessels. On Tuesday (04) the navy chased away about 80 fishermen that came in 11 boats. However, the Indian fishermen continue to poach in our waters,” a representative of the Jaffna fishing association said.

He said that there were many allegations that Sri Lankan fishermen were involved in various smuggling activities with the help of their Indian counterparts and that had increased the chances of deadly Indian Coronavirus variants coming into the country.

“Those involved in smuggling and other activities are just a fraction of our fishermen. We are concerned about our safety and willing to work with the navy,” he said.

There was a high risk of the deadly Indian COVID-19 variant spreading into Sri Lanka, Chief Epidemiologist of the Ministry of Health, Dr. Sudath Samaraweera told the media on Wednesday in Colombo.

Dr. Samaraweera said that Sri Lankan fishermen continued to interact with their Indian counterparts in mid-sea and therefore it was only a matter of time before the Indian variant entered the country.

“We must be extremely vigilant. We have seen the devastation caused by this variant in India. These mid-sea interactions by the fishing community must be stopped,” he said.

Navy Spokesman Captain Indika de Silva said the Navy had increased patrolling of the north and north western seas to prevent illegal migration.

The Navy Spokesman said they had moved several additional vessels to stations in the north and northwest to patrol the International Maritime Boundary Line (IMBL) between Sri Lanka and India to prevent illegal immigration across the Palk Strait.

Capt. De Silva added that four Indian fishing vessels along with 21 Indian nationals had been taken into custody last week for smuggling in Sri Lankan waters. The vessels and suspected smugglers had been sent back to Indian waters due to the COVID-19 situation.