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Twenty-four fishermen from Tharuvaikulam fishing village in Thoothukudi district, who had ventured into the deep sea for fishing in three mechanised fishing boats, were detained by the Maldives Coast Guard on October 13.
According to Thoothukudi District Information and Public Relations Office, following the directions of Tamil Nadu Chief Minister C Joseph Vijay and the continuous efforts of the Minister for Fisheries and Fishermen Welfare, steps were taken through the Union Ministry of External Affairs and the Indian High Commission in Maldives to secure the release of the detained fishermen and bring them back home. As a result of the continuous efforts of the Tamil Nadu government, all 24 fishermen were released and safely returned to their homeland on November 8. The Tamil Nadu government bore the expenses of their air travel. Fisheries Department officials from Thoothukudi personally received the fishermen upon their arrival at Thiruvananthapuram airport. Subsequently, they were safely sent to their respective hometowns. Earlier on Saturday, Tamil Nadu Leader of Opposition (LoP) and DMK leader Udayanidhi Stalin met families of nine Kasimedu fishermen who lost their lives in a Cyclone Murasu-related tragedy. Speaking to ANI, Udayanidhi mentioned that the DMK supports fishermen families' demand for government jobs. "It's a very tragic accident that has happened. I've been visiting the family and giving our support. I think the TVK govt has not taken adequate steps... The families are telling me that, even though they have been submitting complaints to the police station and informing the officials, no proper action was taken. They (TN Govt) have announced Rs 7 lakhs as a relief fund and, again, around Rs 2 lakhs. They (families of the deceased) are demanding govt jobs for each family. This time, we want to stand by them and show our support..." said Udayanidhi. Earlier, nine Kasimedu fishermen who departed from Chennai on October 29 amid Cyclone Murasu experienced engine failure near Ramayapatnam Port in Andhra Pradesh on November 3. (ANI)
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