Kabaddi court built on turtle nesting ground on Chinna Neelankarai beach

CHENNAI: Two illegal kabaddi-cum-volleyball courts have been built on Olive Ridley turtle nesting sites on Chinna Neelankarai beach. Large quantities of construction debris was dumped and heavy rollers were used to convert the beach into a hard clay ground.

TNIE visited the village on Friday and found that work on one of the courts was complete and even light posts were erected, while work on another court was ongoing. Both the courts were within 10 metres from the sea and about 100 metres from the State forest department’s turtle hatchery.

In 2016, the State had declared coastal stretches from Kottivakkam to Kovalam as Olive Ridley turtle nesting grounds. The areas where the courts have come up are classified as CRZ-1a under Coastal Regulation Zone Notification, 2011.

These are ecologically-sensitive areas essential for maintaining the coastal  ecosystem. Two days back, Corporation officials visited the village to remove the debris on the beach, but had to allegedly face resistance. An assistant executive engineer told TNIE: “We held talks with the locals and told them it’s a violation. We removed most of the debris with great difficulty,” he said. However, the construction material can still be found on the beach. Red soil used for topping is piled up and the area still has a significant quantity of the debris.

When contacted, fishermen leader Sekar from Chinna Neelankarai defended the actions. “We also need a ground to play. We know how to take care of turtles. The courts are built on our village beach, and are not permanent. We convinced and sent back corporation officials who came here a few days back.”