Sri Lankan Parliamentarians have called for stopping Indian fishermen from fishing in Sri Lankan waters and urged the government to work with the Indian government to find a speedy solution to the problem.
These views were expressed in a special debate in Parliament on the issue Friday. Sri Lanka’s acting Fisheries Minister Dilip Wedarachchi suggested setting up an All-party Committee to find solutions to the problem.
He informed the house that during bilateral discussions, Indian fishermen have made unreasonable demands, including permission to fish in Sri Lankan waters for 83 days per year. State Minister for Economic Development Niroshan Perera said Sri Lanka could not agree to these conditions.
UNP MP Mujibur Rahman said a delegation of Sri Lankan MPs should visit Tamil Nadu and discuss the matter with its Chief Minister Jayalalitha Jayaram. Leader of Opposition and Tamil National Alliance Chief, R. Sampanthan argued that the government should take up the issue with both the Indian central government and Tamil Nadu government.
TNA Parliamentarian M A Sumintharan called for an immediate halt to bottom trawling by the Indian fishermen as it is depleting the marine resources in the region.