Two Indian fishermen have been injured in alleged firing by Sri Lankan Navy personnel off Kodikkarai coast, 80 km from Puducherry. The fisheries department official said the two men were part of a large fishing group of around 100 boats. Both men are from Karaikkal district in the state.

Amal Xavier, joint director of Fisheries, Nagapattinam, told PTI that Thursday’s incident took place when the group was around 11 nautical miles off the coast. The injured have been identified as 21-year-old Balamurugan and Aravind (22). Both have been admitted with severe injuries to Puducherry government hospital.

Kartik, one of the fishermen, told Hindustan Times, “We had gone to the sea on Sunday night and after two days when we were returning, we were asked to slow down by Sri Lankan navy persons. When we did not, they began firing,”

The incident comes three days after the Indian Navy opened fire at a boat carrying two armed Sri Lankans and chased them away. The problem of fishermen from either country straying into each other’s waters has long dogged the two nations.

On November 6, India and Sri Lanka had announced their decision to set up a coast guard hotline to avoid such confrontations. The decision was taken during a bilateral meeting between External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj and her counterpart Mangala Samaraweera in Delhi.

Sri Lanka has, however, rejected India’s proposal for a three-year grace period to stop current illegal fishing practices by Indian fishermen in the Gulf of Mannar and Palk Strait. During the meet, the countries had discussed ways to find a “permanent solution” to the problem. The leaders had agreed to the formation of a Joint Working Group on Fisheries that will meet every three months and a meeting between the ministers for fisheries every six months. The first ministerial meeting will be held on January 2, 2017, in Colombo.

(The image is representative.)