Can Katchatheevu's retrieval solve India's fishing conundrum?
India TodayThe brewing political issue of Katchatheevu islet has again found itself at the centre of a raging debate as Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday doubled down on his accusation of Congress and DMK colluding to "give away" this tiny piece of land -- a flashpoint in the India-Sri Lanka fishing issue -- to Colombo. Situated nearly 25 kilometres northeast of Tamil Nadu's Rameswaram, Katchatheevu went under Sri Lankan control by a 1974 treaty that demarcated the maritime boundary line between the two countries. UNDERSTANDING THE ISSUE Central to the problem lies in confusion about the nature of access granted to Indian fishermen under the 1974 'Agreement between India and Sri Lanka on the Boundary in Historic Waters between the two countries and related matters' that delineated the boundary in the Park Strait. INDIA GETS WADGE BANK On the day of signing the second agreement on March 23, 1976, India and Sri Lanka inked another understanding regarding ownership of Wadge Bank, a 10,000-square-kilometres' undersea plateau situated nearly 50 kilometres south of Kanyakumari in Tamil Nadu. Other suggestions may include permitting a limited number of Indian and Sri Lankan fishers into each other's waters up to a certain distance from the IMBL and the promotion of deep-sea fishing among Indian fishermen.