Loop Road: Fish vendors warned against not appearing in High Court

The meeting convened by the civic body on Saturday, presided over by Chennai Corporation Commissioner G Prakash and attended by Additional Commissioner of police Mahesh Kumar Agarwal, ended in just 30 minutes.

“The Commissioner asked us to appear in court on Monday to put forth our argument. We have the right to sell fish on the Loop Road as it is our ancestral place. Without hearing our demands, the Commissioner left the meeting within half an hour,” alleged a fisherman who participated in the meeting.

The tiff between the civic body and fishermen arose after the Madras High Court ordered the Chennai Corporation to regulate street vending in Marina. Even as the court directed them to record their submissions to the court, the fishermen who are refusing to vacate are yet to approach the court.

“If the fishermen fail to submit their argument, the court will issue final order without hearing them. We have requested to them to come to the court,” an official said. Meanwhile, the civic body has identified a piece of land on the road to build a fish market. But the fishermen are demanding shops on the sand itself, which comes under Coastal Regulation Zone (CRZ) regulation. At present, more than 300 fish shops are functioning on the platform of the road.