Tamil Nadu CM urges Kerala chief minister to issue entry passes to Kanyakumari fishermen

CHENNAI: Tamil Nadu chief minister Edappadi K Palaniswami on Wednesday urged his Kerala counterpart, Pinarayi Vijayan, to issue passes to fishermen in Kanyakumari district to enter Kerala and resume fishing from August 1, after the completion of fishing ban period in the west coast.
In a letter to Vijayan, the chief minister said 350 mechanised fishing boats and 750 traditional boats belonging to Kanyakumari district fishermen were berthed at various fishing harbours and fish landing centres of Kerala.
Due to lockdown, the fishermen returned to their hometowns leaving behind the boats in Kerala.
“In view of the lockdown restrictions, these fishermen from Kanyakumari district could neither go to Kerala to look after the maintenance of their boats nor resume their fishing activities. There are around 25,000 fishermen families of Kanyakumari district who have lost their livelihood in the past three months,” Palaniswami said.
Fishermen associations of Kanyakumari district requested the state government to arrange for passes to enter Kerala to take up maintenance of boats and to resume fishing.