Fishermen of Pulicat lake on Monday staged a protest demanding immediate dredging of the bar mouth and a permanent solution to the silting of the waterbody.
Narasing of Koonangkuppam said that fishermen of various villages had been submitting petitions to officials seeking dredging of the bar mouth that allows seawater to enter and exit the waterbody, but to no avail.
“When we ask officials they only seem to give empty promises. Around 2,000 inland and sea faring fishermen and their families are dependent on the lake. We hope the government will take immediate action,” he said.
Jalandran Chettiyar of Arangamkuppam said it has been at least a week since the fishermen ventured into the sea as the estuary was closed with silt. “There is plenty of fish in the sea during this time of the year but we are unable to catch them. In a few weeks the sea will become rougher and we will be forced to stay at home,” he said.
Durai Mahendran of the Tiruvallur Maavatta Paarambariya Aikya Meenavat Sangam said the permanent solution suggested by an IIT-Madras study has not been implemented as yet. “It has been over a year since the study was submitted to the government,” he pointed out.
After the protests, the Water Resources Department started dredging Araniyar river mouth on Monday.
The work was part of the ₹39-lakh monsoon preparedness work to be taken up this year. While ₹16 lakh would be spent on dredging the river mouth, ₹23 lakh would be spent to remove silt and blockages in the river.
Asked when a permanent solution would be found for the problem, the Fisheries Department officials said that Coastal Regulation Zone clearance has to be obtained from the Centre for the ₹27-crore project that will provide permanent stability to the bar mouth.
Funding sought
Meanwhile, the department had also applied for funding for the project and would consider the option of dredging until the clearance and funds were got.
