Chennai, Aug 3 (IANS): The fishermen in Chennai's Ennore on Thursday conducted a protest march, demanding jobs for them, saying the fish catch has dwindled with the construction of the power transmission tower and people do not buy the fish from Ennore stating that it was toxic.

Fishermen from Ennorekuppam, Nettukuppam, Mugathwarakuppam, Thazhankuppam, Sivanpadaiveethikuppam, Periyakuppam and Chinnakuppam - participated in the prtoest against the Tamil Nadu Transmission Corporation ( Tantransco) and Tamil Nadu Generation and Distribution Corporation Limited (Tangedco) constructing power transmission tower in the Ennore backwaters.

Swaminathan, a fisherman from Ennore who took part in the protest march, told IANS: “I used to get Rs 500 per day by fishing in the Ennore backwaters. However with the construction of power transmission tower, there is a reduced presence of fish and even if we get a few catch, people are not buying, stating that fish from Ennore is bad and toxic.”

He said that the fishermen had conducted a silent protest march on July 26 in their boats around the construction sites of the transmission towers.

They were demanding for the removal of the debris of the power transmission tower in the water.

The fishers had also met the Tiruvallur district collector and demanded jobs for the people of Ennore, dredging the river using Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) funds.

The fishermen are now demanding meetings and discussions with higher authorities as even after the discussions with the District collector, the issue could not be resolved.