Pulicat fishermen seek GPS boundaries for shared fishing grounds
Fishermen from Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh have urged both state governments to use GPS to mark fishing grounds in Pulicat Lake, saying existing palm-trunk markers decay and can trigger disputes. Officials agreed that current fishing arrangements would continue until governments decide, while community leaders also sought withdrawal of pending cases.
Fishermen from Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh have asked both state governments to demarcate fishing grounds in Pulicat Lake using global positioning systems, saying the existing markers are unreliable. The demand was made at a joint meeting in Tiruvallur district attended by fishermen, legislators and officials from Tiruvallur and Sullurpeta. Representatives of 25 fishing hamlets that depend on the brackish-water lake participated.
The lake, declared a protected area in 1980, covers 720 square kilometres. About 84 per cent lies in Andhra Pradesh and 16 per cent in Tamil Nadu, according to the supplied report. Fishermen said boundaries currently marked with palmyra tree trunks could no longer be relied upon because the wood rots in salt water.
Replacing the trunks can also lead to fresh disagreements over the location of the boundary. The request follows a long-running dispute between fishing communities. The report refers to violent incidents in April 2014, when houses, boats, nets and engines in Chinna Mangodu village were set on fire after a fishing-border dispute.
A source said fishermen from Tamil Nadu had since largely avoided waters controlled by Andhra Pradesh. The source added that 199 police cases involving men from Tamil Nadu’s fishing hamlets remained pending. After hearing both sides, Tiruvallur District Collector S.
Kavitha and Tirupati Additional Collector R. Govinda Rao said the existing system of fishing would continue until the respective governments made a decision. Fishing community leader Durai Mahendran urged authorities to complete the GPS marking quickly, saying clear boundaries would reduce tensions between villages.
He also called for the cases against fishermen to be withdrawn. The fishermen have held protests and submitted petitions to district administrations in both states. The supplied material does not say when either government will decide on GPS demarcation.
This independently written report is based on information supplied by the named publisher. Vertrix News has not independently verified the source report.