Fishermen of villages around the Pulicat lake in Tiruvallur district, the second largest brackish water lake in the country, have urged the government to construct training walls to keep the estuary at Pazhaverkadu open through the year. It will allow proper exchange of sea water and water from the lake, thereby keeping the pH level and salinity at permissible limits.
P. Aalaiyan of Tada Kuppam in Andhra Pradesh said that though there was one more estuary at Raidurgh, there is not much fishing there. “That area has been silted up and there is no water. We have requested Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Jagan Mohan Reddy to take up desilting work. Problems have erupted between fishermen of the two States due to lack of fishing grounds because of the silting. If that issue is resolved, it would benefit lakhs of people,” he said.
The lake is located in Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu. Mr. Aalaiyan said that they had sought to peacefully resolve the Paadu issue with Mangodu village in Tamil Nadu. “We are willing to provide due compensation for the losses incurred,” he said.
Durai Mahendran of the Tiruvallur District Traditional United Fishermen Association, said the lake was silting up and the livelihood of fishermen living along the lake was dependent on it. “Since the catch is not much, people are going to other places in search of jobs and they only get menial jobs since they are not skilled. If steps are not taken up immediately, the lake will be lost,” he said.
M. R. Thyagarajan, president, Meenava Thandai Selvarajkumar Meenavar Nala Sangam, said that not just fishermen but businesses around the lake too would benefit from the permanent exchange of water. “The State Public Works Department does desilt the estuary once a year, but that is not enough,” he added. The sangam had convened a meeting of various associations on Tuesday.
Tiruvallur District Collector T. Prabhushankar said that he was aware of the situation and assured the fishermen that steps would be taken to construct training walls as requested by them.
