The Hindu : Tamil Nadu News : Fisherfolk protest mud dump

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Thursday, Jul 31, 2008
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Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu

Fisherfolk protest mud dump

Special Correspondent

Karikaattukuppam villagers blocked lorries

— Photo : K. Manikandan

Venting ire: Fisherfolk of Karikaattukuppam staging a demonstration against the dumping of mud into the backwaters in their area on Wednesday.

TAMBARAM: Dozens of men, women and children of Karikaattukuppam village in Muttukadu village panchayat limits off East Coast Road blocked the movement of lorries on Wednesday, protesting attempts by a section of people to dump mud inside the backwaters in their area.

The fishermen said they had been fishing in the backwaters for several generations and they would be deprived of their livelihood if its expanse shrunk.

The fishermen said the backwaters branched off from the Muttukadu estuary, flowed through Karikaattuppuram in the form of a river and drained into the Bay of Bengal and hence it was locally called “kilai aaru” and “kadal ottiya aaru” (branch river and river close to the sea). They would venture into the Bay of Bengal between January and June and when the sea was rough between July and December, they would harvest crabs, prawns and other varieties of fish in the branch river.

For some weeks now, lorry loads of mud were being dumped into this branch river by individuals, the fishermen said, adding the width of the branch river was shrinking. “I have been fishing here since I was 15 years old and families are dependent on this (branch river) for several generations together. By dumping mud into it, we would no longer be able to catch fish in it,” said 75-year-old R.Nagappan.

The fishermen said they were not against any real estate or property development, but none had the right to alter or damage a naturally created waterbody.

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