Chinese-made boat engines attract fishermen’s wrath in Chennai; stir turns violent

CHENNAI: As many as four buses, a few auto rickshaws and three two-wheelers were damaged after a protest by fishermen against the use of Chinese-made high horse power motors in fishing boats turned violent at Kasimedu here on Monday.

Traffic along the Ennore high road was disrupted for hours after hundreds of fishermen and women staged a road blockade at the Kasimedu signal from 8 am. They demanded removal of the Chinese-made high HP motors from fishing boats in Kasimedu. 

“Our fishing boats have motors ranging from 160 to 250 HP, while a few politically influenced fishermen in Kasimedu have been using 450 HP Chinese motors for the past four months. These boats take away maximum fishes as they move faster in the sea. Their fibre nets capture maximum fishes, fish eggs and other various organisms, destroying the entire ecosystem,” said K Subramani of Kasimedu, one of the protesters. About one lakh fishermen live in 23 fishermen habitations in Kasimedu area. The sell about 1,000 tonnes of fish worth Rs 50 crore each day.

The protesting fishermen accused the Fisheries officials and the police of showing reluctance to take up their complaint since fishermen using Chinese motors have political back-up. “While all other fishermen capture an average of 200 baskets of fishes, those using Chinese motors manage about 1,000 to 1,500 baskets. How can a small trader survive?” said Kani, a woman protester.

Though the issues started snowballing three months ago in Kasimedu, protest erupted after a section of fishermen were arrested a few days ago. 

On Saturday afternoon, around 200 boat owners attached to the Chennai Mechanised Fishermen Association laid a siege to the Fisheries department office at Kasimedu. The police arrested 13 of them, including Thiyagu, the president of the association, on under various charges, including assaulting a few local fishermen. This led to a protest on Sunday in which hundreds of fishermen laid a siege to the Kasimedu police station demanding release of the arrested fishermen. 

As the police refused to budge, around 8 am on Monday, about 1,000 fishermen and women blocked vehicles at the Kasimedu signal along the Ennore main road. As the repeated attempt by police to disperse the crowd did not succeed, the police resorted to lathicharge against the protesting youth at Kasimedu. The protest then turned violent with youngsters pelting stones at the buses, autos and two-wheelers. 

After about four hours, protesters were pacified by the police with an assurance that the Chinese motors would be removed from select boats. Around 2.30 pm, in presence of fisher women, Chinese motors were removed from three boats at the Kasimedu fishing harbour.  As part of the protest, a large number of boats have been stationed at the sea mouth to prevent the entry of other boats into the sea. The entire lot of the Kasimedu fishermen did not put out to sea. When contacted, Fisheries department officials refused to comment.