CHENNAI: Under pressure, the Tamil Nadu Generation and Distribution Corporation (TANGEDCO) has begun removing the dredged sand that was dumped illegally in the Kosasthalaiyar river backwaters in Ennore.
Local fishermen from Kattukuppam have confirmed to Express that three tipper lorries and one proclainer were seen removing the sand. “We visited the place around 4 pm. The work was going on at slow pace and it would easy take several weeks to completely remove the sand and restore the place to its original shape. Just removing sand upto the water level is not enough, the original 1.5 metre-depth must be restored,” Ravimaran, a local fisherman said.
Meanwhile, the Madras High Court on Wednesday directed TANGEDCO to file a status report on the issue by August 17. Selvaraj Duraiswamy, a fisherman from Kattukuppam, had filed a petition urging the court to restrain TANGEDCO from land-filling the waterbody, which was not included original designs for Ennore SEZ project.
Express had earlier reported about the violation and how TANGEDCO had been deviating from the approved alignment. The power corporation has reclaimed 15 acres of water body, including more than one acre of river and mangroves, for building a coal conveyor corridor for the SEZ project. The approved alignment does not involve conversion of the river or other waterbodies.
Desingh Ananthan, another person who filed a writ petition over this issue in the High Court, said that the area where TANGEDCO dumped sand, is known locally as Pazhankalvai (old canal) at Konamudukku, which is one of the most biologically productive segments in the Ennore Creek because of the presence of mangroves and a deep water habitat.A recent report released by the Save Ennore Creek Campaign found dangerous levels of arsenic, cadmium, copper and chromium in the dredged sand samples used by TANGEDCO to reclaim backwaters
Use of dredged sea sand for reclamation is banned by the National Green Tribunal. A January 2020 report submitted to the NGT by a joint committee found that sea sand dredged and dumped in the Ennore Creek by Kamarajar Port contained “very high concentrations” of magnesium, potassium, chromium, lead and calcium, and “high concentrations” of other toxic metals. The levels of these metals found in the samples taken from TANGEDCO’s dumpsite inside the river are far higher than even the “very high concentrations” reported by the panel.
When contacted by Express, a senior Ennore SEZ project official said that instructions have been given to remove the sand from the waterbody. However, he refuted the charges of change in project design alignment.
Recently, hundreds of fishermen from Kattukuppam had besieged the dumpsite, forcing the Tiruvallur administration to intervene and direct the TANGEDCO to suspend works temporarily. About 250 fishermen, including kids and women, in 60-70 boats also stomped the construction site and set-up tents protesting and raising slogans against the project.