The standoff between fishermen and authorities over the widening of 1.6-km stretch from SN Chetty Street to the Kasimedu Fishing Harbour, as part of the Chennai Road Port Connectivity Project (formerly Ennore Manali Road Improvement Project (EMRIP) ended with the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) promising to lay interior roads in the harbour and ensuring free movement of fishermen. The agreement was reached after Chennai collector S Jayanthi held a meeting with various stakeholders, including NHAI, police, fishermen and port officials. The development comes in the wake of Union Shipping Minister GK Vasan vowing to finish the Rs 600 crore project by June 2013. “There are certain issues and we want to resolve it by involving all stake holders,” he had stated while reviewing the project recently.
The meeting also decided to lay a seven metre service road to ensure free movement of fishermen. A release said that it was also decided to temporarily lay a five metre wide road to ensure works of the fishermen are not affected due to road widening. The meeting also discussed providing various facilities to fishermen which included toilets, drinking water, roads, streetlights and health care facilities.
The meeting also decided to extend the existing auction platform on the seaside. The Port Trust will dredge the area beneath the new auction platform within a month. The release added that it was decided that the government would pay the fishermen a rent of Rs 1 per day after entering into a rental agreement, and that the fishermen will vacate the land within three days.