CHENNAI: Adani Group has written to the National Hydrographic Office asking for the waters around its port in Kattupalli to be declared a ‘No Fishing Zone.’ The letter dated August 26, 2019, was written within a year of the company purchasing a portion of the L&T Port.
Arguing that the fishing boats and nets pose “a serious security concern and safety hazard to the ships,” Adani called for a ban on fishing in the vicinity of the port. The letter was obtained on March 9, 2021, after a Right to Information request with the Tamil Nadu Maritime Board by Chennai-based fisherman K Saravanan.
The fishers’ panchayat of Kattupalli Kuppam has written an open letter to all political parties asking them to speak up on the matter as ports and industries were tightening the stranglehold on their livelihoods. Adani’s proposed expansion will enlarge the port footprint from 331 acres to 6,100 acres, of which 2,000 acres will be new land created by dumping of sand on some of the richest fishing grounds in the near-shore area. The corporate communications office of Adani didn’t respond to an email sent by TNIE.
Increased shipping traffic is a danger to fishermen’s lives and property and not to ships, the villagers pointed out. “We are appealing to all political parties to speak out against this injustice,” the open letter states. The area sought for a No Fishing Zone in the 2019 letter is about 7.7 sq km.
That is an area 112 times the size of Chepauk cricket stadium just for the existing 330-acre port. An expanded 8 sq km port (2,000 acres) will require nearly 50 sq km as No Fishing Zone or an area nearly 700 times the size of Chepauk stadium. That is what the fisherfolk are being asked to give up so that Adani can benefit, said a press release.