Fishermen of Nochikuppam on Monday staged a protest demanding that the district-level coastal zone management plan (CZMP) for Chennai city and other coastal districts in the State be uploaded along with markings in 1:4000 scale. They said that only if the plans were shown on such a scale, their villages would be marked.
“The NGT in an order had said that high-tide levels, common areas, fishing grounds, fish drying spaces and houses too have to be marked and shown clearly in the CZMP for 2011. However, the plan does not have such detail. When it is time for the next CZMP, we would be obliterated from the maps. Fishermen have been living on the coast for ages and when fishing hamlets are not to be found in the CZMP, we would not be consulted for any future proposal. If the maps are uploaded, then we can at least check if they are to the required scale and if not, we can approach the appropriate forum,” said K. Bharathi.
Community leader Ko. Su. Mani said that during the last set of public hearings held in 2017, there were protests by fishermen in many cases. “At every meeting, fishermen had protested. Now, it is time for the next CZMP which is why we are demanding that our villages be marked properly. However, the department does not seem to be hearing our voices,” he said. The fishermen demanded that the National Centre for Sustainable Coastal Management be removed as nodal agency for the CZMP.
The fishermen protested against the construction of a manhole and other structures on the coast by a private telecom major for laying an undersea optic fibre cable without due permission.
