Chennai Corporation zeroes in on land at Santhome to relocate Marina fish vendors

The Corporation was pulled up by the Madras High Court bench, which has been unrelenting in taking it to task for the poor upkeep of the beach and surroundings. Following this intense judicial glare, the civic body has identified a two-acre land belonging to Tamil Nadu Slum Clearance Board (TNSCB) to set up a new fish market.

“The fish market, proposed to be built at a cost of Rs 5 crore, will accommodate 300 shops. The land will be acquired soon,” said a senior official of Chennai Corporation, adding that the new market would have all facilities including car parking.

However, the fishermen in Nochikuppam, who run fish shops on Loop Road, are not in favour of the plan to relocate them, insisting that the traffic on Loop Road should instead be banned as it was in violation of rules. This was a small mud road used by the fisherfolks of Nochikuppam and nearby villages, said K Bharathi, president, South India Fishermen Welfare Association. Pointing out that the road that the Corporation has laid was in violation of the Coastal Regulation Zone rules, Bharathi said instead of removing them, the traffic on Loop Road should be banned.

This was not the only violation, he added. The Corporation was violating its own law by constructing fish market on an Open Space Reserve (OSR) land, which is earmarked for recreational purpose.

Though it is yet to conduct stakeholders’ meeting on constructing the new fish market, the Chennai Corporation has already started upgrading 2.3 Km long road between Light House and Pattinapakkam at a cost of Rs 47 crore. “The Loop Road is being upgraded to assure the hassle-free public and tourist transportation,” said a statement from the Corporation.

A day after the Madras High Court asked the Greater Chennai Corporation Commissioner D Karthikeyan to take a walk on Marina, he, along with other officials, went on a morning walk there and personally inspected the ongoing cleaning works on the beach and Loop Road on Tuesday. Clad in walking gear, Karthikeyan reviewed regularised shops and sanitary works carried out on the beach. He visited the public toilet and checked the cleanliness of the facility. According to a Corporation statement, Karthikeyan warned the officials of severe action if they fail to upkeep the beach. “While inspecting Marina Loop Road, the Commissioner ordered the officials to remove debris dumped on the road,” the release said. Deputy Commissioners M Govinda Roa, P Madhusudhan Reddy and Subodh Kumar accompanied Karthikeyan during the inspection.