KATTUPALLI FISHERMEN: Jobs flow out of desal plant protest tap
By G Saravanan Published in The New Indian Express, Chennai, on July 31, 2010: CHENNAI: Seven different companies located in and around the Kattupalli desalination plant near Minjur have promised to recruit 1,750 traditional fishermen from 15 hamlets, who lost their livelihood in the face of massive industrialisation. The assurance comes in the wake of the threat issued by the 12,000-odd fishermen living in these hamlets of greeting Chief Minister M Karunanidhi with black flags during his proposed visit to Kattupalli to inaugurate the desalination plant on Saturday. Under a deal accepted by all village heads during a meeting at the Collectorate on Thursday, the companies will immediately recruit 850 fishermen and accommodate them in suitable jobs, and another 900 would be recruited for different jobs within a year. The urgent meeting was convened by Tiruvallur Collector T P Rajesh to broker peace and to avoid any confrontation with the fishermen during the CM’s visit, said sources. Bes...