Sri Lanka asks India to stop its fishermen from straying into country's waters
Colombo (PTI): The Sri Lankan government has requested India to prevent its fishermen from illegally entering the country's waters for fishing.
Minister of Transport, Highways, Ports and Civil Aviation Bimal Rathnayaka said the Indian action would be deeply appreciated by the people in northern Sri Lanka as fishing is the only livelihood for them.
His remarks came ahead of the likely visit by Prime Minister Narendra Modi to Sri Lanka next month.
“We know that India has been helping Sri Lanka a lot. But this help towards the people of Jaffna would be the greatest," Rathnayaka told Parliament.
“They have no other industry and if you go to Mannar and Thalaimannar you will see”.
Rathnayaka said India was of much assistance to the people of northern Sri Lanka during the country's armed conflict with the LTTE.
“They gave them protection and we are thankful to India for that," Rathnayaka stressed.
The biggest service India, the Tamil Nadu government and, their MPs could do is to help the northern people preserve their livelihoods.
“If they cannot extend this help the question would be if their all other assistance was genuine," Rathnayaka said.
The opposition MP Mano Ganesan said that the Sri Lankan government should include the issue of illegal fishing by Indian fishermen in its agenda for talks with the Indian prime minister.
The Sri Lanka Navy said they arrested over 550 Indian fishermen in 2024 for poaching in Sri Lankan waters. So far this year, over 130 Indian fishermen have been arrested.
Prime Minister Modi is likely to visit Sri Lanka in early April. It would be his fourth visit to the country. Previously, Modi visited Sri Lanka in 2015, 2017 and 2019.
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Drug peddler's property worth Rs 1 crore attached in Srinagar
Srinagar (PTI): Property worth Rs 1 crore belonging to a notorious drug peddler was on Saturday attached in Jammu and Kashmir's Srinagar, police said.
A double-storey house on eight marlas of land situated at Wantpora Eidgah, belonging to Basit Bilal Dar, a notorious drug peddler, valued at approximately Rs 1 crore, a police spokesperson said.
He said Dar is involved in two cases registered under various sections of the NDPS Act.
During investigation, it was established that the accused had acquired the said property through illicit proceeds generated from drug trafficking activities, the spokesperson said.
Consequently, the property was attached under the provisions of the NDPS Act. The attachment proceedings were conducted in the presence of the two independent witnesses, strictly in accordance with the prescribed legal procedures, he said.
As per the attachment order, the owner has been restrained from selling, leasing, transferring, altering, or creating any third-party interest in the property till further orders, the spokesperson added.
