Chennai: Citing danger to traditional fishing grounds in more than 18 villages in Chengalpet, fisherfolk staged a protest on Monday urging the govt to drop the sixth reservoir project of Chennai, set to come up at the Kovalam sub-basin in two years.The 326-crore project, for which the govt officially received the coastal zone regulation nod in Dec 2025, is intended to store rainwater and inflow from over 40 nearby lakes at an annual capacity of 2.25TMC and supply 170MLD to core city areas and suburbs. One of the main concerns of the fishers is the loss of breeding grounds. “The new project will hinder the flow of water from Mugathuvaram, a freshwater source. This water enters the proposed area of the reservoir spanning more than 5,000 acres, which has several salt pans, turning the water brackish and serving as a perfect breeding ground. But the reservoir will cut the freshwater source and affect an entire ecosystem,” said Arumugam from the Chengalpet District United Fisherfolk Panchayat Council.More than 500 fisher families will be affected by this. “It will also pose flood risks during the monsoon,” said Soundara Pandian, a fisherman.
