Eight fishermen from Visakhapatnam detained in Bangladesh

The Bangladesh Coast Guard has detained eight fishermen from Visakhapatnam as they had strayed into Bangladesh territorial waters. The men have been identified as the crew members of a mechanised boat named ‘Amrutha’. The boat had set sail from Visakhapatnam Fishing Harbour, on a long line tuna fishing expedition, on 24 September 2019. Apparently, the vessel had got held up in mid-sea due to a technical glitch before the heavy wind drifted the boat into Bangladesh waters.  

The crew members have been identified as Maurpalli Polayya, Rayati Appanna, Vasupalli Appanna, Marukapalli Narsimma, Barra Ramu, Vasupalli Appanna, Rayati Ramu and Vasupalli Kamulu. They all hail from Thippalavalasa Village, Pusapatirega Mandal in Vizianagaram District. However, the crew resides in Visakhapatnam for their livelihood. 

Reportedly, one of the crew members, Vasupalli Appanna, contacted the owner of the boat, Vasupalli Ramu, who immediately informed the concerned authorities. 

The Visakhapatnam Mechanised Boat Operators Association representative, PC Appa Rao, had approached State Tourism, Culture & Youth Minister, Muttamsetti Srinivasa Rao, Visakhapatnam MP, MVV Satyanarayana, and Visakhapatnam South MLA, Vasupalli Ganesh Kumar, for helping in this matter. In this regard, Mr Satyanarayana has written to Union Minister of External Affairs, Subrahmanyam Jaishankar, requesting the Central Government’s assistance in ensuring the fishermen return Visakhapatnam soon.