A conflict broke out between Jaffna District MP Archchuna Ramanathan and Minister of Fisheries Ramalingam Chandrasekar during the Kilinochchi district coordination committee meeting held today (16).

Video footage shows the MP and Minister engaging in a verbal argument, after which a confrontation breaks out when the Minister attempts to take the files in the possession of MP Archchuna.

“If you lay a hand on me, I’ll lay a hand on you too… got it?” MP Archchuna warns Minister Ramalingam Chandrasekar soon after. 

Police and officials present at the meeting, thereafter, intervene, preventing a further escalation of the situation. (Newswire)

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Sri Lanka’s Fisheries Minister Ramalingam Chandrasekar on Thursday (May 14) urged Tamil Nadu Chief Minister C. Joseph Vijay, to ban the destructive bottom trawling fishing method, a practice prohibited in Sri Lanka since 2017.

Expressing willingness to resolve the fisheries conflict through talks and diplomatic channels, he said he hoped to travel to Tamil Nadu to meet the newly elected leader.

Addressing a press conference in Kilinochchi, Minister Chandrasekar made mention of the long-festering fisheries conflict in the Palk Strait, which impacts Tamil fishermen in northern Sri Lanka and their counterparts in Tamil Nadu, in response to a question from the media. (The Hindu)

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Minister of Fisheries, Ramalingam Chandrasekar, has requested all fishing communities in the country not to engage in fishing activities beyond Sri Lanka’s maritime boundary.

The Minister pointed out that this decision was taken considering the risky situation prevailing within international maritime boundaries.

The Fisheries Minister made the statement while speaking in Parliament regarding the Iranian warship that was sunk by a US attack and another Iranian vessel currently positioned within Sri Lanka’s maritime boundary.

Yesterday, the United States, with the assistance of a submarine, attacked and sank an Iranian warship in the sea beyond Sri Lanka’s maritime boundary. 

Accordingly, search operations are currently being carried out in that maritime area.

Meanwhile, the Department of Fisheries has issued a special set of instructions to ensure the safety of Sri Lankan multi‑day fishing vessels engaged in work in international waters, in view of the warlike atmosphere near the Gulf region. 

The Department’s Director General, Susanta Kahawatta, said that fishermen should always engage in their work only in traditionally used fishing grounds.

He also informed that no vessel suspected of being involved in military activities, nor any foreign ship or vessel, should be approached.

Fishing communities were further advised to completely refrain from exchanging goods or engaging in any transactions with other vessels, and to travel only through the usual routes used when departing for and returning from fishing activities.

The Department of Fisheries emphasized that no fishing vessel has so far been affected due to the prevailing situation. (Newswire)

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The feasibility of a tourism development project that would connect Neduntheevu and Katchatheevu is being studied, Minister of Fisheries, Aquatic and Ocean Resources, Ramalingam Chandrasekar, said.

Minister Ramalingam Chandrasekar made the remark during an observation trip to Katchatheevu Island with President Anura Kumara Dissanayake yesterday. 

“We inquired of the Navy about the safety of our fishermen engaged in fishing activities in the Katchatheevu area, the challenges they face, and the development projects to be carried out in the area,” he said. 

Revealing that, similarly, various projects are being formulated to develop the tourism sector, Minister Ramalingam Chandrasekar said that, in this regard, the feasibility of implementing a tourism project that would connect Neduntheevu and Katchatheevu was also explored.

“As tourists are currently coming to Neduntheevu, there is a plan to extend development to Katchatheevu,” he said. (Newswire)

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