Stating that handing over fishing rights in water spread areas in Mettur Dam to private parties will affect the livelihood of licensed fishermen, a protest was held in front of Sub-Collector office in Mettur here on Wednesday. Led by MLA S.R. Parthiban, protestors said that there are more than 2,000 licensed fishermen who catch fish and sell to Mettur Dam Fishermen Cooperative Marketing Society. But the government had on January 1, 2015 floated tender inviting private players to take up the job of catching fish in the waterspread area. “All the fishermen and 15,000 family members will be affected,” they said. Protestors said that the government had during the former Chief Minister M.G. Ramachandran’s period come up with same proposal and floated tender. Fishermen took up the issue with him and the process was cancelled. Hence the State government should also cancel the tender process, they urged. Protestors said that people in Mettur had donated 38,000 acre of agriculture land for the construction of Stanley Reservoir during 1930’s. “All these years we were involved only in fishing and cannot go for other jobs,” they added.
– Staff Reporter
