What did CM Palaniswamy mention in his letter to PM?

Chennai: The Tamil Nadu Chief Minister K Palanisamy has urged the Centre to take immediate steps to secure the release of 54 Indian fishermen apprehended by Sri Lanka. 140 fishing boats are also in Sri Lanka's custody and this is fuelling unrest among the fisherfolk, he noted.

"I strongly urge you to ... take up the alarming and continual kidnapping of our fishermen in their traditional waters with the apical jurisdiction in the Sri Lankan government," he said in a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday.

He claimed to Modi to provide the safety and security of Indian fishermen in the Palk Bay.

Palanisamy said recently 46 fishermen and their nine mechanized fishing boats were seized in separate incidents. The fishermen had set navigation from Ramanathapuram and Pudukottai districts of Tamil Nadu. They were placed under the arrest by the Sri Lankan Navy between September 11 and October 26, he said in the letter.

"So far, in 2017, 317 Tamil Nadu fishermen and 62 fishing boats have been taken into custody in 59 incidents and 263 of these fishermen have been released after considerable pull by the governments of India and Tamil Nadu," he noted.

Sri Lanka released only 36 fishing boats out of 61 fishing boats seized in 2015, finally he said.