Fishermen's panchayats threaten statewide protests over Foreshore Estate Secretariat plan

Representatives of fishermen's panchayats gathered on the sands of the Marina on Tuesday and served the Tamil Nadu government an ultimatum to abandon its proposal to build a Secretariat-cum-Assembly complex at Foreshore Estate.

Around 1,000 men and women assembled on a stretch of the beach marked with black flags, signing a register and speaking their minds on the plan. Community leader K. Bharathi said the government had already issued a Government Order for the land and warned that any move towards construction would be met with resistance. She said the community, as a stakeholder, had not been consulted at any stage, leaving it with no option but to organise large-scale protests across the State.

Several speakers argued that the land earmarked for the complex belongs to the Srinivasapuram and Mullikuppam fishing hamlet, where residents have long awaited government housing for fishermen. V.R. Vijayan of the Maylai Pagudhi Anaithu Meenava Grama Panchayat Sabhai said the community would be satisfied if the proposal were dropped, and indicated it would allow time for Chief Minister C. Joseph Vijay to return from his trip and reconsider the decision.

Another community leader, Kabaddi Maran, said the construction would spell ruin for all 1,500 fishermen families in the area. Security restrictions, he said, would leave residents unable to leave their homes or go out to fish, destroying both their daily lives and their livelihood. While the community accepts the need for a new Secretariat, he added, this location is not suitable. He described the anger among young people and women as palpable, and said elders were urging patience in the belief that the Chief Minister has their interests at heart.