Tension prevailed on the Ennore Expressway whenover 100 fishermen belonging to the Nalla Thanneer Odai (NTO) Kuppam entered the sea to protest against the eviction from their houses on Wednesday afternoon.
They demanded that the government start constructing houses promised to them on the land belonging to the Thyagaraya Swamy Temple near Ellaiamman Temple on the expressway.
There were around 446 houses in NTO Kuppam and a few months ago over 260 families were moved out to pave way for road widening as part of the Ennore Manali Road Improvement Project (EMRIP).
Earth movers used
On Wednesday, the local administration with the help of police started evicting the remaining residents from the hamlet.
Three earth movers were used to demolish the houses and the police blocked the road leading to Ennore from NTO Kuppam and diverted the traffic through Tiruvottuyur.
“On Tuesday evening we came to know that some officials were coming to the hamlet. However, we thought they had come for talks, but on Wednesday morning they started removing us with the belongings,” said P. Radhakrishan, a resident .
Subsequently, hundreds of men and women entered the sea in the morning as a mark of protest. “Most of them were pulled out by the police. However, some people remained in the sea till evening,” said K.Jagadeesan from the Tamilnadu Meenavar Murpokku Sangam.
Not against eviction
According to him, the residents were not against evacuation, but wanted construction work to begin on the land allotted to them by the government. “We cannot blindly trust the government and move out. The government should at least start the construction work in the land, so that we can be sure we will get our houses,” he said.
Meanwhile, government officials claimed that work on the new tenements in Thyagaraya Swamy Temple land would be expedited.
