TIRUPATI: Tirupati MP M Gurumoorthy has sought the Centre's intervention to end the perennial conflicts between the fishermen communities of Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu over fishing related activities in the Bay of Bengal in Nellore district bordering the neighbouring state.
Gurumoorthy, who accompanied representatives of the fishermen community and inspected fishing spots near Rayadaruvu village recently, has written a letter to Union fisheries minister Parshottam Rupala, pointing out that the Centre's inaction is leading to conflicts between the fishermen communities of the two states.
Pulicat lake, which is the second largest brackish water lagoon in the country after Chilka lake in Odisha, is located on the east coast with an extent of 461 sq km, out of which 400 sq km fall in AP. There are about 20 fishermen habitations in the state and about 24 fishermen colonies in Tamil Nadu, who all depend on fishing in Pulicat lake.
While the southern portion of the lake, which fall in Tamil Nadu, is deep with abundant water throughout the year, the northern side of the lake in AP is shallow and the water dries up due to sandbar formation. The conflicts usually happen between March and June every year when AP fishermen venture into Tamil Nadu side to fish.
Following an appeal by the AP government to the Centre to initiate steps to open the sea mouth near Rayadaruvu village, a central committee was constituted by the Central Water Commission with members from the CWC, the National Institute of Ocean Technology in Chennai and the Integrated Coastal & Marine Area Management in Chennai to conduct relevant studies and submit a detailed project report.
But despite the report suggesting the sea mouth at Rayadaruvu village to be opened by taking up dredging activities, no concrete measures have been taken up by the Centre so far, Gurumoorthy rued, adding that the Centre's inaction is hurting the livelihood of thousands of AP fishermen.
