Leaders of various political parties and members of Dhanushkodi and Muhuntharayar Chathiram Traditional Fishermen Rights Protection Committee presented a petition at the Collector’s office here on Thursday, protesting against the eviction of fishermen living in the areas. The district administration, which decided to preserve the remnants of the architectural monuments in Dhanushkodi, devastated by the 1964 cyclonic storm, issued notices to the people living in the area to vacate the place and pave way for the project. Opposing this, the leaders said the move would affect their livelihood as they eked out their living by shoreline fishing. They were living in five hamlets around Dhanushkodi after the town was destroyed by the cyclonic storm. The displacement would affect the education of their children as they were studying in the government middle school in Dhanushkodi, they said. The move to evict them has come as a surprise as the government was building a fish landing centre and fish action centre for the benefit of the fisherfolk, they said, and urged the district administration not to disturb their livelihood.
2016, The Hindu