Indian fishermen from Tamil Nadu and Kerala stranded in Iran get help to return home

HYDERABAD: Several Indian fishermen who were stranded for the last few months in Iran are set to return home from Iran. The fishermen were in a miserable situation and being deprived of their basic necessities, including proper food and water.
According to social worker Shaheen Sayyed who has taken up the issue with the authorities, the fishermen who went to Iran taken by an agent have been without work and salary for the last few months. They were also unable to return to India because no interest was being taken to send them back. In Operation Samudra setu, the India Navy brought back a few hundred Indian sailors but as many as 73 were left behind.
As early as in March itself, Shaheen Sayyed brought to the notice of the authorities that 1,000 Indian fishermen were stranded in Kish island and other islands and without even being provided food.
The fishermen from different parts of India were taken by agents first to Dubai and then flown to Iran on visit visas and put on ships for fishing. As there was no fishing activity happening in the last few months because of the Covid19 situation and lockdown, they were not provided proper amenities or pay.
Meanwhile, ISWAN, a London-based charity has written to Shaheen Sayyed that the regional office in India had written to the Indias ambassador in Iran about the problem.
Capt Sanjay Prashar, member of National Shipping Board and chairman, International Maritime Federation told TOI that a total of 59 fishermen, including 41 from Tamil Nadu and 18 from Kerala were being helped to return. Their travel tRead More – Source

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