Fishermen of hamlets in and around Ennore Creek on Wednesday staged a protest against the Tamil Nadu Transmission Corporation (Tantransco) installing transmission towers in their fishing grounds.
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Men from Kattukuppam, Ennorekuppam, Chinnakuppam, Periyakuppam and Mugadwarakuppam anchored their boats around the construction site. The fishermen said they wanted the agency to remove the construction debris dumped into the water meant for construction of transmission towers. Kumaresan, of Kattukuppam, said they wanted the various government and private agencies that had come up around the creek to remove construction debris, fly ash and other impurities from the waterbody, which is the only source of livelihood to hundreds of families.
“Between the pouring of hot water and dumping of fly ash and construction debris, the fishes, prawns and crabs that were unique to this creek have all vanished. In the name of development, they have blocked the free flow of water. We want the waterbody to be dredged,” he said.
The boats remained at the spot and agreed to move after Revenue Department officials told them they should take their problems to the Tiruvallur Collector. “We agreed to the Tahsildar’s proposal and representatives from all the eight villages affected by this are planning to go meet him on Friday,” said Murugesan, another fisherman.
Later in the evening, a meeting of all fishing villages in the area was held at the Ulagathai Kaatha Pidariamman temple, where the families also raised the promises made to them, including provision of jobs and compensation promised to affected families. The villagers had staged a similar protest in January demanding the stoppage of any construction on the creek.