Sri Lankan army illegally fishing in Mannar

by Aditya
Jun 1, 2021

The Sri Lankan army has been reported to be illegally fishing in a pond near Thiruketheeswaram, Mannar, owned by the Thiruketheeswaram farmers’ organisation.

In spite of the pond belonging to a private body, the army deployed in Mannar has been repeatedly fishing in it day in and day out without any permission from the owners. The pond was reported leased to an individual for a period of three months but the army's activities has caused the person great distress.

When the farmers’ organisation took the issue up with the army officials, no step was taken to curb the illegal fishing and no solution was arrived at to resolve the issue. 

Tamil parliamentarian Charles Nirmalanathan made a surprise visit to the area on May 31 and observed that army officials were fishing in the private pond wearing civilian clothes.

Nirmalanathan immediately brought the issue to the attention of superior military officials over a phone call. The officials reportedly told him that they would take appropriate actions on the matter. 

The MP also told the military official that the people of Thiruketheeswaram would be initiating acts of opposition if a just solution to the problem is not secured.

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