The AP government has expedited the steps to bring back 8 fishermen from Vizianagaram district who were mistakenly caught by the Bangladesh Navy while fishing in the sea. The state government was immediately alerted after receiving information that the fishermen had been taken into custody by the Bangladesh Navy.
The state government is in constant coordination with the Union Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) on this incident and official discussions are underway in this regard through AP Bhavan in New Delhi. The state government has already contacted Joint Secretary, Ministry of External Affairs B. Shyam and got the details of the progress of the case.
According to the information received so far, while a chargesheet has been filed against the fishermen in Bangladesh, a special legal team set up by the Indian High Commission in Dhaka is providing legal assistance to the fishermen and working for their release. In addition to providing them with the necessary legal assistance, the government has also asked the Bangladesh Embassy to provide necessary cooperation.
The state government is continuously in touch with the affected fishing families in Vizianagaram district and is working to provide them with all kinds of assistance. The state government officials are continuously in touch with the central government and the officials of the Ministry of External Affairs, and all necessary efforts are being made to bring the fishermen back to the country safely as soon as possible.
Union Civil Aviation Minister Kinjarapu Rammohan Naidu is making every effort to bring the fishermen back. He spoke to Union External Affairs Minister Jayashankar and asked him to take steps to bring the fishermen back quickly. State MSME, SERP and NRI Affairs Minister Kondapalli Srinivas inquired about the welfare of the fishermen. He is trying to talk to them on a satellite phone.
Meanwhile, eight fishermen from Bhogapuram area of Vizianagaram district went fishing on the 13th of this month by taking a boat belonging to Satyanarayana of Relli Veedhi in Visakhapatnam. While continuing the fishing in the early hours of Wednesday morning, it was discovered that they had mistakenly entered the waters of Bangladesh. Initial information is that the naval authorities there have taken the fishermen into custody.
Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu has also responded promptly to this incident during his visit to Dubai. Union Minister Rammohan Naidu has also continuously spoken to the officials and reviewed the situation and instructed the officials to take all steps to bring them safely to the state.