Lives on Loop Road caught in HC hook

CHENNAI: If one goes by the city’s old-time residents, Pattinapakkam aka Foreshore Estate has been a fishing village for over 500 years. Now, the civic body authorities cleared the stalls along the Marina Loop Road following the Madras High Court order that claims that it causes traffic congestion.

Fishermen of 6 hamlets — Nochikuppam, Mullaimanagar, Nambikai Nagar, Rajiv Gandhi Nagar, Bhavani Kuppam, and Srinivasapuram in Pattinapakkam staged road roko demanding the withdrawal of the order that has impacted the livelihood of over 5,000 families living in the area.

Native residents

“This place has been occupied by the fishing community for several centuries. Though our villages were completely shattered in natural disasters, we did not relocate or move to another job. When this was a mud road a few years ago, the government officials used to travel on the main road. When the local body laid cement road, we thought it was for our development,” recalled S Latha, a fish vendor at Srinivasapuram for over 40 years.

She added that most of the government officials, especially HC judges and advocate families would purchase seafood from them. “We earn only Rs 300-400 per day, but even that’d be gone if we relocate to another place in the city. Also, we’d be forced to pay water and electricity bills every month in the new place,” pointed out Latha.

State-wide protest

Furious at the authorities for throwing away the seafood during eviction, Karupagam, a fish vendor in Pattinapakkam said, “If the court does not withdraw the case and permit us to set up stalls here again, fishermen across the State will stage a protest. They want the fish we catch and sell, but at the same time, they want to evacuate us from our ancestral place.”

However, the fisherfolk also mentioned that they were ready to relocate if the government assured them jobs for at least 1 member from each family. After the eviction drive on April 12, fishermen have not ventured into the sea for over a week.

“The government is carrying out several beautification works in the city. They’re evicting shops to build rope cable car, extend roads to other beaches and get a blue flag certificate for Marina Beach. They’re developing a city by destroying livelihood of 6 villages,” lamented J Kosumani, a fisherman in Nochikuppam.

Experts say…

The civic body continues to carry the eviction drive from Light house to Foreshore Estate bus terminus. If the fishermen and their families from Pattinapakkam were relocated, it’d adversely impact the fishing industry, as sustainability will be a challenge.

“Why can’t the civic body allocate space for the families in their locality itself? This would ensure accessibility to fish and also sell their day’s catch. Now, families are furious because their identities have been taken away,” opined Dr Maruthu Pandi, aquaculture consultant.

For instance, if the GCC builds a fish market in Triplicane, fishermen would have to carry their daily catch of seafood, which is at least 75 kg, from Pattinapakkam to Triplicane. “How is this viable? They’ve been selling seafood here for several generations. Also, relocating suddenly would impact their children’s education,” stated another marine expert.

Market at Rs 10 crore

“Since it’s a judicial order, we had to evict fish shops on the footpaths from the Light House to Srinivasapuram, for which people have staged a road roko. Along with police officials, we’re trying to convince them to remove the block. Even the court is ready to listen to their call,” said S Sheik Abdul Rahaman, regional deputy commissioner (Central), GCC.

The civic body is constructing a fish market along the Loop Road at Rs 10 crore. It’d accommodate over 300 fish vendors, and would have facilities like drinking water, electricity, toilets and sewage treatment plant that will help to prevent fish odour. The work will be completed in 6 months.

“The families in Pattinapakkam oppose that too. They want to stay on the same road. Until the fish market is constructed, it has been suggested set up shop on the western side along the shore,” added Rahaman.