Madras HC judges want fish stalls evicted from Chennai Marina loop road, fishers protest

Hundreds of people belonging to the fisher community in Nochikuppam sat on a protest for the second day on Chennai Marina loop road, against the eviction of their stalls by the Greater Chennai Corporation (GCC), on Thursday, April 13. The process of removing the stalls began on April 12, a day after the Madras High Court ordered the ‘immediate eviction’ of shops.

The Acting Chief Justice of the Madras High Court, T Raja, sent a letter to the registry on April 6 taking suo motu cognizance of congestion caused on the road due to the stalls. It was then allotted to a special bench headed by Justice SS Sundar and PB Balaji. While allotting the matter to the special bench, the acting ACJ also observed that “every morning they come and squat not allowing anyone to use the road,”

The bench issued directions for removing the stalls citing increasing traffic congestion on the loop road. On April 11, the bench asked how can the Corporation officials and police permit the encroachments, when ‘Singara Chennai (Beautiful Chennai)’ is the motto for the city to achieve. The Judges also ordered the GCC to submit a report on April 18.

Fisherwomen, who lost their income for the second day as their stalls were removed, sat under umbrellas and urged the government to not implement the directions from the HC. “If the Corporation officials are pressing hard to evict our stalls, we will intensify the protests by bringing the fisherfolk from all over Chennai to Marina Beach,” the protesters said.

The protesters said they were not informed about the case or served notices. “We were not informed beforehand. They did not warn us of being evicted from here. The case was filed on April 11 and on April 12 the authorities were here to evict us” said Mohana, a 56-year-old fisherwoman, who participated in the protest.

The loop road falls parallel to the busy Santhome High Road, which is used by the VVIPs to commute on a daily basis. The Santhome High Road is used by High Court Judges, Tamil Nadu Ministers, IAS officers and others to commute to their offices located on the Kamaraj Salai. On occassion, the traffic is diverted to the loop road.

Fish Stalls located on the loop road (TNM photo)

“The officials came around 8am yesterday, seized our shop properties and loaded them onto the lorries. We get Rs 1000 – 500 a day after selling fish. The authorities kicked at fresh fish kept for sale, which is our livelihood. We have to earn every day to provide for our families. We have to go to the sea every day to ensure our meal. Whatever we got in the two days went to waste. We lost our income,” Mohana said.

The fishers are against ceding the space to the Corporation. “We will conduct our business here only. We are considerate of the vehicles passing by here. We do not interfere on that side of the lane,” she said. “How does that official know anything? How is he hurt by our community here? He goes in an air-conditioned car, lives in an air-conditioned house and works in an air-conditioned office. How does he know our struggles? Ask him to stand for an hour in the sun,” said Mohana.

Ravi, Mylapore Zone Secretary of the Communist Party of India (Marxist), while speaking to TNM, elaborated on how successive Tamil Nadu governments have been eyeing the land near the shores and trying to evict fisherfolk for decades. “Fifteen years ago, land on the Santhome High Road was allotted to private schools. Since schools were concentrated in one place, traffic became an issue. So they laid a new road that goes around the Lighthouse and Srinivasapuram fishing village as the loop road and opened it for traffic,” Ravi recalled.

Despite demands from fisherfolk to stop laying the road as it would affect their business, the authorities went ahead with the project. “Officials assured us that our businesses won’t be affected. Now, the government is keen on removing the fishers from this area,” he said.

“The judge who used this road has taken a case on his own. He is asking us to vacate our shops from here. He is calling us encroachers. We are the natives of this place. This Nochikuppam village was created when Chennai was created. We are not migrants. Our ancestors have been here since the beginning,” Ravi said.

Police personnel held discussion with protesters (TNM Photo)

Mullaikodi, a fisherwoman, asked why the government never asked people who live on Santhome High Road to move. “If you remove 10 buildings from the Santhome High Road, imagine how it can be widened. None of these buildings were there until a few years back. They are expanding it for their comfort and have two or even three cars. How will the traffic not increase?” asks Mullaikodi. She said authorities had asked them for a one-way road to reduce the traffic. “We gave our land. Now what more do you want? Who are they to decide this? Whether we live or die it will be here,” Mullaikodi said.

Singara Chennai at the cost of lives and livelihoods?  

On Wednesday, Corporation officials carried out the eviction of fish stalls on the loop road using earth movers. The fisherfolk who were in shock engaged in scuffles with police and Corporation officials and dumped fish meat on the road. Corporation officials left the place after an hour on Wednesday. Fishers continued the protest for the second day on Wednesday.

The Singara Chennai project was launched when MK Stalin was elected as Chennai Mayor in 1996. The project was aimed at making Chennai look like Singapore. Many flyovers and parks were introduced in the city. Now many projects are being introduced via the Singara Chennai 2.0 scheme.

The beautification project and the protests 

The loop road, between Light House and Srinivasapuram, was constructed against the Coastal Regulations Zone norms. The road was laid, against the wishes of fisherfolk who live there, between 2013 and 2015. The community was promised that the creation of a loop road would never create any issues for them or their daily business. But Singara Chennai, a beautification project, has created unrest among the fishing communities.

This is not the first time the government and officials have tried to evict fisher communities from the shores for ‘beautification projects’. The standoff between fishers and the government can be traced back to the 1980s. In 1985, fisherfolk were asked to park the catamarans, boats and place other fishing equipment like nets near the mouth of Adyar and Cooum rivers as a part of a beautification project. The fisherfolk who live and engage in fishing for centuries in Nochikuppam were upset by this announcement as it was impractical to sail the boats and catamarans from estuaries.

Nochikuppam Protest (TNM Photo)

Erstwhile Chief Minister MG Ramachandran (MGR) deployed police personnel and removed the catamarans and other fishing materials without prior notice on November 4, 1985. Hundreds of fisherfolk gathered for a picketing protest for more than a month. On November 5, a fisherwoman named Annammal fainted while on a hunger strike and died. On November 7, 1985, a fisherman named Godhandapani, set himself ablaze in front of the Secretariat. He succumbed to his injuries on November 9, 1985. The month-long protests came to an end with the 17 rounds of police firing on December 4, which killed five innocent fisherfolk and injured several people were injured.

The struggle was not over. In January 2003, the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) government led by J Jayalalithaa signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Malaysian Government to make an administrative city in Chennai which also included ‘Marina Foreshore Development Scheme’. The scheme hoped for sophisticated building accommodation for multinational businesses and embassies which resulted in fisherfolk protests across the city. The intensified protests by the fishing communities led to the rollback of the scheme.

By Nithya Pandian and Shubhiksha GV