The Hindu : Tamil Nadu / Chennai News : Poondi dam lifts fishermen out of deep water

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Thursday, Sep 07, 2006

Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu - Chennai

Poondi dam lifts fishermen out of deep water

K. Lakshmi

Water release from Kandaleru dam in Andhra draws petty workers into fishing

NET PROFIT: A fisherman at work at the Poondi reservoir in search of a big catch .— Photo: K.Pichumani

CHENNAI : The sprawling Poondi reservoir, which is used for storing water received from the Kandaleru reservoir in Andhra Pradesh, is today a fishermen's haven.

The reservoir, which contributed to fulfilling of the city's drinking water demand, is also providing livelihood opportunities to several families in villages in Tiruvallur district.

Many people from villages around Poondi have taken to fishing after the release of the Krishna water from Andhra into the reservoir on August 20. Though fishing has been allowed in the reservoir by the Fisheries Department throughout the year, more varieties of fish attract villagers during this period.

Hordes of fishermen in catamarans flogging waters of Poondi in search of big catch was seen during a visit on Wednesday to the reservoir. Flock of egrets flying over the reservoir, which is filling up since the water release from Kandaleru, is a visual treat.

Besides the usual varieties available in the reservoir, catfish, katla and rohu were fished in large numbers by the fishermen in the morning. People from about 10 villages around Poondi, including Kuppamachatram, Patraperumandur, Sadurangapettai and Thirupakkam, were involved in fishing from the reservoir.

Small fish varieties were caught during the day along the canal that led to the Poondi reservoir.

S. Nagaiyan, one of the licensed fishermen, told The Hindu on Wednesday that about 2,000 persons were involved in fishing in the reservoir. Each of them earns between Rs. 100 and Rs.300 every day.

Fish catch was high in the initial days of water release from the Kandaleru reservoir, he said.

Mr. Nagaiyan had worked as an agricultural labourer and earned only Rs.50 daily.

The reservoir has provided a means of livelihood to many such people, who earned little money as agricultural labourers and through petty jobs.

Bhaskaran, who worked as an electrician, also took to fishing during this season.

He said that fishes worth Rs.1 lakh were on sale daily. Each kg of fish was sold between Rs.50 and Rs.100, depending on variety. Fishes were sold to places such as Satyavedu, several km away from Poondi.

Meanwhile, Public Works Department officials went on inspection to Uthukottai on the Tamil Nadu border and the Poondi reservoir to check water level.

An official said that zero point at the State border received an inflow of about 640 cubic feet per second (cusecs) on Wednesday evening. The flow into Poondi reservoir was about 580 cusecs. Water release from the neighbouring State was better, compared to previous years, he added.

Tamil Nadu has so far realised about 690 million cubic feet of water, which would add a month of supply to the city at an average of 640 million litres of water per day.

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