CHENNAI: Coastal communities from across northern Tamil Nadu on Saturday said projects carried out in the name of “Blue Economy-led growth” have displaced fishing communities, degraded the environment and cost people their livelihoods - the opposite of the sustainable development the government claims to pursue.
The testimonies came at a public hearing organised by the Neithaliyal Collective in Ennore, where fishers and residents from Tiruvallur, Chennai, Chengalpattu and Villupuram spoke before a three-member panel comprising fisherman activist Prof Fatima Babu, filmmaker Gopi Nainar and coastal activist Jesu Rathinam. The panel observed ports, power plants, aquaculture, seafood processing units, desalination plants and the salt lands’ monetisation showed control over coastal commons moving from fishing communities to commercial interests.
Subashini R of Kattukuppam said industrialisation had stripped fishing communities of their traditional resources. Fish caught from the Ennore Creek now contain zinc, cadmium, chromium and nickel, she said, making them unsafe to eat. Madhan, a fisher, said hot water discharged by nearby thermal power plants into the Kosasthalaiyar river had driven fish away. South Indian Fishermen Welfare Association president K Bharathi criticised Blue Flag beach projects for disrupting fishing and boat parking, and alleged they were being used to push through development without CRZ clearance.
Yasodha of Kattupalli, displaced by land acquisition for an L&T facility, said workers were promised permanent jobs that never came, with salaries stuck at Rs 22,000 for decades and with Adani now expanding its port presence, communities fear more of the same.
Fishers from Kovalam opposed the proposed Mamallan Reservoir, warning it would damage wetlands, threaten fisheries and violate CRZ norms.