Madras High Court shows some indulgence, allows Chennai Corporation to regulate fish vendors on Marina Loop Road

The Madras High Court on Wednesday showed some indulgence towards the fish vendors on the Marina Beach Loop Road in Chennai, and permitted the Greater Chennai Corporation (GCC) to regulate their business without encroaching upon the carriageway and causing hindrance to free flow of vehicular traffic, on the public road.

The Madras High Court on Wednesday showed some indulgence towards the fish vendors on the Marina Beach Loop Road in Chennai, and permitted the Greater Chennai Corporation (GCC) to regulate their business without encroaching upon the carriageway and causing hindrance to free flow of vehicular traffic, on the public road.

Justices S.S. Sundar and P.B. Balaji adjourned to June 19, the hearing on a suo motu public interest litigation petition taken up by the court after recording an undertaking given by GCC Commissioner Gagandeep Singh Bedi that the civic body would regulate the vendors, with police assistance, until the completion of the ongoing construction of a modern fish market.

On April 11, the Court had directed GCC, to evict, within a week all the fish stalls that had encroached upon the carriageway on both sides of the loop road and to file a compliance report before the court by April 18. Following this, the Corporation began clearing fish stalls on the western side of the road.

However, fishermen of Nochikuppam staged a protest demanding that they be allowed to continue selling fish in the stalls along Loop Road.

Additional Advocate General J. Ravindran told the court that the GCC had identified two parking bays, one behind the Light House and another near Srinivasapuram, for parking of vehicles of those who visit Loop Road to purchase sea food from the vendors and said they would not be allowed to park their vehicles on the carriageway.

In an affidavit filed before the court on Wednesday, Mr. Bedi stated that GCC and police would identify the spots where the fish vendors could be allowed to carry out their business without disturbing the free movement of vehicles and that paver blocks would be laid in those places, within a fortnight, in order to accommodate them.

Accepting the submission made by the Commissioner, Justice Sundar said, the court was always willing to show some indulgence to the fishermen as long as they do not encroach upon the carriageway though some fishermen representatives had been giving interviews to the media projecting the judges of the High Court in a bad light.