Chennai Corporation asks fish vendors to evacuate from Loop Road

Chennai:It was three minutes past five p.m. at the Marina Loop Road on the coastal capital of Tamil Nadu. Vehicles from Kamarajar Salai were starting to swarm the road, prompted by a board near the lighthouse that said ‘Take Diversion from 8 a.m. to 11 a.m. and 5 p.m. to 8p.m.’Fish vendors at the entrance of the 2.8 km stretch were setting up their shops, hoping for the motorists to stop and buy from them. The road,which branches off Kamarajar Salai, near lighthouse, and runs up to Srinivasapuram, seemed as if it was waking up from a siesta.

Two fish vendors pluck fish from their net. They catch the fish at 3:30 p.m. everyday. And they are ready for sale at five.
Photo Courtesy: Milan Geroge Jacob.

“The number of vehicles keeps increasing. If not for the diversion, there would be a traffic-jam at Kamarajar Salai,” said Traffic Police Inspector P. Rajan. “But due to the recent increase in the number of fish stalls, even the Loop road is now congested. The corporation must find them an alternative place.”

The Chennai Corporation has started to widen the 15 m road so that “it would turn into a well laid-out link road with features and amenities that can match world standards.”The ‘encroachments’, viz. fish stalls are apparently “impeding” the corporation’s plan. Last week, when a few corporation officials tried to remove the stalls, the vendors resisted.

2. The road,which branches off Kamarajar Salai, near lighthouse, and runs up to Srinivasapuram, is 2.8 km long.
Photo Courtesy: Milan Geroge Jacob.

Amuda, who has been selling fish on the pavement of the Loop Road for 25 years, turns down the idea of an alternative place. “Last week, the corporation officials asked us to vacate to the sands. But we have been on the pavement forever and it will affect our business if we move to the sands,” said Amuda.

The corporation had promised “a new fish market with hygienic facilities” to those who would be denied space to sell fish once the project began. But the promise seemed false after an RTI reply from the Tamil Nadu Slum Clearance Board (TNSCB) stated that it had no plans drawn up to construct fish markets.

The accessibility of the fish stalls and its proximity to the sea is an important reason for many people to buy fish from them. A.M Martin, a 40-year old businessman, stops his car on the Loop road at least thrice a week to buy fish. “The fish here is really fresh. And this road is on the way to my home, so I needn’t drive elsewhere to buy them.”

The corners of the road are marked for widening.
Photo Courtesy: Milan Geroge Jacob.

The Hindu, on March 9, 2014, reported that a footpath, a cycle track and broader roads are among what has been proposed besides a new fish market.

The officials at the Chennai Corporation and the Tamil Nadu Slum Clearance Board could not be reached for their comments.