Five deep sea longliners are fast getting ready and dozens more are in the pipeline, but the State government’s hope to reduce the tension among the fishing community in Tamil Nadu and neighbouring Sri Lanka by encouraging deep sea fishing is hanging in balance, as the Centre is yet to sanction the `1,650 crore special package that the State had sought. We are building 90 deep sea longliners, of which about five will hit the water soon. They are expensive, each costing about `60 to 70 lakh. But the government is providing `30 lakh subsidy to encourage more into taking this up, a senior official told Express. This technology-driven diversification caught the attention of the authorities as a possible solution to the festering strife in the Palk Strait. The International Maritime Boundary Line (IMBL) is a narrow space, which is leading to tensions between the Tamil fishermen and Lankans. But the boundary towards the south is much bigger, enabling our fishermen to fish freely without the fear of coming under attack from any, added the official. The conflict is real and serious. Since 1991, as many as 128 fishermen were shot dead by Lankan forces, besides injuring 283. This includes the latest fatality, Britjo Hemeles, who died after a fatal wound to his neck, and Jeron Dhasan, who had to be admitted to Ramanathapuram government hospital. Deep sea longliners are capital-intensive as it involves costly equipment, and also require manpower expertise. But they are more profitable and cause much less damage than the banned bottom-trawler nets that many fishermen allegedly uses. Following the announcement by late Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa that the government would bear almost half its cost, it was decided to build 90 of them in the first batch. In collaboration with the Centre, fishermen were given training in operating them. But it also requires related infrastructure along the coast, like the proposed `114-crore fishing harbour at Mookaiyur in Ramanathapuram district, the official pointed out. This was part of the `1,650 crore special package that the State sought from the Centre, which is yet to come even as the boats are getting ready.