4 boats vanish overnight as territorial dispute between Tamil Nadu, Andhra fishermen leads to a political storm

Four fishing boats from Tamil Nadu and Puducherry, seized by fishermen in Nellore after they allegedly entered Andhra Pradesh waters, disappeared overnight in an incident that has led to a political spat. The four boats and their crew were detained last week by fishermen from Nellore and were towed to Juvvaladinne Fishing Harbour. Following this, the Nellore fishermen were engaged in talks with local officials and political leaders, but in the meantime, on Saturday night, the four boats went missing. The YSRCP has alleged that the ruling TDP’s leaders secretly negotiated with Juvvaladinne village elders and directed the harbour’s night watchmen to let the boats go to avoid an inter-state dispute. YSRCP Nellore district president and former minister Kakani Govardhan Reddy alleged on Tuesday that the boats went missing with the involvement of Rajya Sabha MP Beeda Masthan Rao and TDP leaders. He alleged that the plan to remove the boats was executed from the Nellore Collectorate under the direction of Minister Kollu Ravindra, and demanded answers from the Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu, and ministers Lokesh and Kollu Ravindra, as well as district police officers, including SP, DSP, and CI.