CHENNAI: City police arrested Narmada, an activist, after she allegedly attempted to drop sea crabs in front of the Fisheries minister D Jayakumar’s residence on Friday, demanding officials to fulfil all demands announced in the Assembly for the fisheries department.
Recently, over 50 families residing at Pattinapakkam lost their houses to swell waves. The sea has been battering the area for the last 15 days, triggering massive sea erosion. Every time a swell hits the tenements, it carries away chunks of sand weakening the foundation and making the houses unstable.
Finally, scores of houses gave-in on Tuesday forcing people to take shelter in the neighbouring houses or elsewhere. This is the third consecutive year in a row, swell waves that occur during southwest monsoon have wreaked havoc at Pattinapakkam, a prominent fishing locality located south of Marina beach.
Following this, Jayakumar visited the spot and assured the families of relief. “Since, no relief has been given so far, Narmada took a few crabs and went to the minister’s residence and attempted to drop it in front of his house, causing a flutter in the locality,” said a police source.
Meanwhile, the issue echoed in the Assembly with Mylapore MLA R Nataraj urging the State government to provide alternative accommodation for the families which were affected by sea erosion. Responding, Jayakumar said himself and Nataraj inspected the houses and promised the families that they would be given accommodation in Perumbakkam area. “But, a woman from Anna Nagar came to my residence and released crabs just to get cheap publicity.”