Members of the AIADMK on Wednesday staged a protest in Marakkanam near Villupuram in protest against the delay in construction of a fishing harbour in Azhagankuppam and Alamparai, located on the borders of Villupuram and Chengalpattu districts.
Leading the demonstration, Rajya Sabha Member of Parliament C.Ve. Shanmugam said the fishing harbour project was brought in by the previous AIADMK government to benefit over 40,000 fishermen in both the districts. The then AIADMK government had also made an allocation of ₹261 crore, and work had started. But a petition was filed before the National Green Tribunal, stating that the construction would affect the nesting site of Olive Ridley turtles in the region. The NGT subsequently withheld its sanction for the project.
Condemning the ruling DMK for shelving the project, Mr. Shanmugam said the State government had deceived fishermen who had lost their livelihoods due to the non-availability of the harbour. He alleged that the Departments of Fisheries and Forests, which had earlier granted a ‘No Objection Certificate’ for the project during the previous regime had now changed its stand and has claimed that the project would affect the nesting sites of turtles.
Mr. Shanmugam said the suspension of the project by the DMK government was an act of political vendetta and said that the government had let down fishermen. While the State government was able to get permission for the construction of a ‘Pen memorial’ for former Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M. Karunanidhi, it had failed to protect the livelihood of thousands of fishermen from the two districts, he charged.
