8 Andhra Pradesh’s fishermen released by Bangladesh Coast Guard, arrested on Oct 8

Hyderabad

Eight fishermen from Andhra Pradesh who had been languishing in a Bangladesh jail for the last few months were released. All eight fishermens were arrested on October 8, 2019. The fishermen hail from Tippalavalasa village in Pusapatirega mandal in Vizianagaram District and had settled in Visakhapatnam. On September 24, 2019, they left Visakhapatnam fishing harbour in a mechanised boat named ‘Amrutha’. On October 2, they were arrested by the Bangladesh Coast Guard while fishing in the Bay of Bengal close to the country’s border.

“With the continuous efforts of Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy, we are able to free the fishermen,” Minister for Animal Husbandry and Fisheries Department Mopidevi Venkata Ramana told reporters while addressing a press conference on Wednesday. The fishermen were identified as Marupalli Polayya, Rayiti Appanna, Vasupalli Appanna, Marupalli Narasimha, Vasupalli Danayya, V Appanna, Rayati Ramu and Barri Ramulu.

Minister Venkata Ramana assured the fishermen community that 22 places were identified for setting up major and minor jetties across the state, in a phased manner. “Jagan Mohan Reddy has a special interest in the welfare of fishermen community and as promised earlier, jetties will be provided in Srikakulam and Vizianagaram districts so that they needn’t go to other states like Gujarat for labour work. From now on, better facilities and opportunities for fishermen will be provided in our state itself,” he said.