Tamil Nadu gets tough with erring fishermen

In a bid to prevent Tamil Nadu fishermen crossing the Indian maritime borders, the State Government has decided to cancel the licences of fishing boats of those violating the order on more than three occasions.

The fishermen had been advised on several occasions not to cross the Indian maritime borders with Sri Lanka and it had been notified that a fine would be imposed on those violating the order, state Fisheries Secretary Leena Nair told reporters.

In future, if any fisherman violated the Government order on more than three occasions, the licence for their fishing boats would be cancelled, Leena said while replying to a question on finding a permanent solution for the recurring attacks against the fishermen.

However, she said following the intervention of Chief Minister M Karunanidhi, there had been no reports of incidents in the recent past.