Sri Lanka to release 87 Indian fishing boats

Rameswaram: Sri Lankan government has decided to release all the 87 fishing boats in its custody following New Delhi’s intervention, Fisheries Department officials said here on Wednesday.
The island government had asked Indian officials to produce the documents of the boats for verification in Sri Lanka.

Gopinathan, Assistant Director of Fisheries said that the fisheries department officials would leave Chennai with the registration certificate of the fishing boats, under the custody of Sri Lanka.

The documents would be produced at the local court in Sri Lanka and after verification, they would be released by the Court, he said.

The Indo-Sri Lanka Fishermen Negotiation Committee had on Tuesday urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to take steps to begin the third round of talks with Sri Lanka to secure the release of 87 Indian fishing boats in its custody, among other issues.