CHENNAI: Nearly 100 residents of several fishing hamlets — from Kanathur Reddikuppam to Mamallapuram Kokkilimedu Kuppam — have submitted a petition to the assistant director of Fisheries and director of Tamil Nadu Environment and Climate Change department on Friday opposing the proposed sixth reservoir project for Chennai near Tiruporur in the Kovalam region, claiming that it will pose severe threat to their livelihood.
The State Coastal Zone Management Authority has recently accorded its clearance to the reservoir project, and its first phase is said to cost Rs 164 crore. However, the fishermen alleged, “If the reservoir comes, it will disturb the fish-breeding grounds, affecting the livelihood of hundreds of fisherfolk and may also pose flood risks to the nearby villages.”
“Already, the availability of Nethili fish has reduced compared to earlier days, and the once-thriving Parai fish has also become rare. This reservoir will further destroy the breeding grounds for fish and disrupt coastal environment, if implemented. The project must be stopped,” said Soundarapandian D (45), a fisherman from Kovalam Kuppam, adding the dam will also affect Kovalam salt pan, another means of livelihood for thousands of fishing families. They submitted a petition to the assistant director of Fisheries at Neelankarai, demanding the department not to issue the no-objection certificate for the project.
In a letter to the director of Tamil Nadu Environment and Climate Change, the fisherfolk said the project would severely disturb the natural balance of salt-freshwater flow in the estuary, affecting estuarine hydrodynamics. They urged the CRZ clearance granted under at the 138th meeting of the Tamil Nadu State Coastal Zone Management Authority be reconsidered and withdrawn.