Madras HC allows Chennai Corporation to regulate fish vendors

Chennai, April 19 The Madras High Court on Wednesday directed the Greater Chennai Corporation to regulate the fish vendors in Marina Loop road without encroaching upon the carriageway and causing difficulty in free flow of vehicular traffic.

A division bench of Justices S.S. Sundar and P.B. Balaji then adjourned a suo moto hearing of a public interest litigation to June 19.

The court took a lenient view after the Greater Chennai Corporation Commissioner Gagandeep Singh Bedi assured the division bench that the corporation would regulate the fish vendors with police support until the opening of a modern fish market whose construction is about to be completed.

The court, on April 11, has asked the Chennai Corporation to evict all fish vendors who had encroached on both sides of the carriageway and directed the GCC Commissioner to file a compliance report on April 18 after evicting the encroachers.

The GCC, after the order from the court, commenced operations to evict the fish vendors on both sides of the road but met with stiff opposition after the fishermen of Nochikuppam staged a protest demanding that they be allowed to continue the sale of fish.

The GCC Commissioner in an affidavit before the court on Wednesday stated that the GCC and the police would identify spots where the fish vendors would be able to carry out the sale without disturbing free vehicular movement.

The court said that the court was always willing to show indulgence towards the fishermen and adjourned the hearing to June 19.