Fisherfolk from villages around Pulicat lake threaten protests, demand relief

Fishermen of 40 villages around Pulicat lake threaten strike over oil spill safety concerns, seek relief from government.

Fishermen of 40 villages around Pulicat lake have threatened to go on a strike, and take out a march towards the Secretariat if steps are not taken to reassure the public that fish is safe for consumption. Gnanamurthi, president, Vairavankuppam village panchayat said that it has been nearly a month since they had any work. The fish market at Pulicat wears a deserted look since nobody wants to buy fish from here citing the oil spill, he said.  

Another fisherman said that since they have not gone fishing for a month now, their reserves have depleted. “Those who have money are able to eat, but there are families that are going hungry due to loss of livelihood. If there is oil in the water and if the fish has been contaminated, nobody is going to buy it. That would only mean a waste of time and fuel for us,” he said.  

Fishermen of a few other villages around Pulicat, including Arambakkam, have been staging protests including forming human chains, seeking relief from the government. Community leader Durai Mahendran said that oil blobs had been found washed up on the beaches a few days ago, which was the reason for the scare. “People here have also seen dead fish floating in the lake’s waters that had traces of oil too. We are afraid that the inland water sources have brought in oil to the Pulicat lake. We want the government to also lift samples of the lakebed,” he said.  

Officials of the Fisheries Department have held meetings with the fishermen trying to convince them to go back to work. “They say that like those fisherfolks in Ennore, they too deserve relief due to the oil spill. They are quite agitated since the lake is silting up and the catch has come down,” said K. Bharathi, a community leader.  

Tiruvallur District Collector T. Prabhushankar said that fish samples have been collected from the lake and sent for tests. “We told them that they can go fishing since Ennore is quite far from Pulicat. I had also visited the place a couple of days ago to help rebuild confidence among the community,” he said.