The Hindu : Tamil Nadu News : Authorities dismantle 14 illegal prawn farms

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Tuesday, Oct 19, 2004

Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu

Authorities dismantle 14 illegal prawn farms

By Our Special Correspondent

VILLUPURAM, OCT. 18. Acting on the orders of Villupuram Collector Ka. Balachandran officials today began dismantling unauthorised prawn farms at Marakkanam near here. Two tracked mechanical shovels were deployed to level up or demolish the illegal farms, with a strong posse of policemen cordoning off the area and providing protection to the revenue officials.

By the end of the day, 14 of 80 prawn farms identified as illegal had been pulled down. These farms either do not have a valid licence or have encroached upon government land or both. Of the 80, 28 had obtained a stay order against demolition. Officials said more excavators and men would be pressed into operation tomorrow to speed up the demolition.

The officials faced stiff resistance from the prawn farm owners who sought a week to clear the farms themselves, but the officials stood their ground stating that they had already been given enough time.

Two farmers held

The operation was to have taken place on October 11, but a shortage of men and machinery led to it being put off. Angered by the delay, residents of 18 nearby villages, armed with sticks and sharp edged weapons, barged into the farms on October 12 and destroyed about 18 farms.

Acting on a complaint from the owners, police took two farmers from Kandhadu into custody. This infuriated the villagers, who subsequently staged a road roko on the Tindivanam-Pondicherry road.

The villagers met Tindivanam MP K. Dhanraj and gave vent to their feelings, telling him the prawn farms had ruined cultivation on hundreds of acres, spoiled groundwater and affected the fish population.

The villagers urged him to take immediate remedial measures. Subsequently, Mr. Dhanraj met the Collector and asked him to act quickly.

Ramadoss' assurance

The people from Kandhadu also sought the intervention of Pattali Makkal Katchi founder-leader S. Ramadoss, who assured them he would champion their cause if the officials did not act.

Dr. Ramadoss also called upon the Government to impose a ban on prawn farms. He pointed out that land in Nagapattinam, Tiruvarur and Pudukottai districts had become uncultivable because of them.

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