Chennai, April 4 A total of 345 Tamil Nadu fishermen who were stranded in war-torn Iran arrived at the Chennai international airport on Saturday following a coordinated repatriation effort.
The group, comprising an initial 327 fishermen and a subsequent batch of 18, had been stuck in the Middle Eastern nation due to the prevailing conflict in the region.
According to sources, more than 1,000 fishermen from Tamil Nadu, mainly from Kanyakumari, Tirunelveli and Tuticorin districts, had been working in Iran on contract, particularly in and around Kish Island port.
Stranded without work when the war between Iran and the US and its ally Israel began on February 28, the fishermen have been sending video messages to family members urging the government to rescue them.
BJP sources said that the repatriation was facilitated by the Central Government and the saffron party. The BJP bore the entire cost of the air tickets for the stranded fishermen, amounting to approximately Rs 3.25 crore, to ensure their safe return to the country, the party sources said.
Upon their arrival in Chennai, the fishermen were provided with food, clothing, and other essential amenities.
The party also made arrangements for special buses to transport the men from the airport to their respective native villages, the fishermen said while speaking to reporters at Chennai airport.
Meanwhile, Union Minister and BJP’s Tamil Nadu election in-charge Piyush Goyal described the rescue as a matter of "great satisfaction" and a reflection of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s philosophy. Goyal noted that the Ministry of External Affairs, acting under the prime minister’s direction, worked "day and night" to coordinate the difficult journey to bring the citizens back home.
TN BJP chief Nainar Nagenthran detailed the gruelling rescue path, noting that the fishermen had to undertake a 20-hour journey to Armenia before flying to Chennai. Apart from Tamil Nadu, Nagenthran said nearly 20 fishermen from Kerala, Puducherry, Gujarat and Odisha were also rescued.
Former Telangana Governor Tamilisai Soundararajan also welcomed the repatriation. She said the fishermen, who had been stranded without food for nearly 25 days, expressed gratitude for the intervention of the prime minister that allowed them to escape the conflict zone.