CHENNAI: Murthy, a senior-citizen in Vyasarpadi’s Shastri Nagar, remains locked in his house for most part of the day. ‘’The windows and doors remain shut mostly. It gets very hard to breathe when we open it,’’ he says. Suffering from breathing issues among others, this is the best he can do to prevent odour from the fish market nearby entering his house.
It has now been almost two decades since the residents, mostly repatriates from Burma (Myanmar), have been fighting to remove the fish market encroached upon the lane connecting 18th and 19th street. The Corporation acknowledged health hazards in 2008 and promised to remove the encroached fish market. In 2011, it received a sum of `89 lakh from the MLA funds of S K Mahendran (Perambur Constituency, 2006-11) to construct a fish market complex nearby.
Though the civic body identified a 12,000 sq ft land in block number 41, survey number 779/23 in the 16th street, as the land was under the PWD, the Corporation could not get an NOC immediately. After the then Councillor Bhaskaran briefed about the issue in the Tondiarpet Corporation Zonal office in 2012, a board was placed in the vacant land, saying a fish market complex would soon be constructed. The then MLA between 2011-16, A Soundararajan, too promised the same.
The encroachers allegedly took down the board and threatened locals using thugs, forcing them to remain quiet. Thus, in fear, residents too have given up the fight.Kumar*, another resident said, the fish vendors pour waste water outside their houses and the stench is unbearble. “As the carcasses are not removed, it invites greater bandicoot rats, dogs, and cats,’’ added Kumar. “They carried the dead body of a woman recently in the shoulders as the mortuary van couldn’t come inside,’’ said Kumar. Corporation officials said as issue involved interference of local rowdy elements, the project to build the fish market complex could not go at all.“The vendors protested when we requested them to leave in 2014. We will review this issue soon,’’ said the official. *(names changed)