Chennai Corporation and the state’s Fisheries department plan to carry out an enumeration exercise in the fish hawkers market on Marina’s Loop Road. The intention – to database all the fisherfolks who use the Loop Road zone for the fishing and hawking business.
Said a police officer of E5 Marina Police station, “Officials of Corporation and Fisheries department will carry out the enumeration soon. We (police officers) will provide them security.”
This information, he says is being collected for a report to be submitted to the Madras High Court.
Recently, the court had asked the civic body to submit this report along with a few other details. The report, the police officer says will be used to plan the construction of the fish market for the fishermen hawking on the sandy side of Loop Road.
The civic body has planned to construct the market at Nochinagar, and then shift the hawkers there. Says a Corporation official attached to zone 9, “The fish hawking is affecting vehicular movement on Loop Road. Hence, we are asked to shift them to a market.”
However, the fish hawkers, who are mostly women say that Loop Road is their traditional zone and they would not move from there. Said a fishseller of Nochikuppam , “This Loop Road is ours. If we move to some market away from road we will lose our business. We will not shift from here in any case.”
As of now, fish hawking continues but the tension is palpable here.
