Edappadi urges Tamil Nadu Govt to double relief amount for those affected by Ennore oil spill

On Saturday, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M K Stalin had issued orders to provide a relief amount of Rs 8.68 crore to 9,001 families affected by the oil spill in the Ennore Creek area caused by the floods in the aftermath of Cyclone Michaung earlier this month.

As per the statement issued by Stalin, the fisherfolks of villages including Kaatukuppam, Sivanpadikuppam, Ennorekuppam, Mudgadwarakuppam, Thalankuppam, Nettukuppam, VOC Nagar, Ulaganathapuram and Sathyavanimuthu Nagar lost their livelihoods and their boats, fishing nets, and houses were damaged due to the oil leak at the Ennore estuary of the Kosasthalaiyar River.

On Monday, Edappadi said the relief amount announced by the DMK Government was very low. “Due to the oil spill, the fishermen haven’t gone fishing for the past 20 days and their livelihood is deeply affected and the announced relief amount is not enough,” he said.

Edappadi also condemned the DMK government for slapping cases against the fishermen who protested against it for delaying the process of removing the oil, and urged it to withdraw the cases.

Recalling the oil leak incident in 2018 at Kamarajar Port, Edappadi said the then AIADMK government had provided fair compensation for all the fishermen which included Rs 35,000 for damaged big boats, and Rs 5,000 for all affected families in the first phase as well as Rs 12,000 for the members of the fisheries cooperative society.

“If the authorities of the Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board (TNPCB) had conducted inspection in frequent intervals at the companies located to the Ennore estuary and carried out their duty diligently, incidents like this wouldn’t have occurred,” Edappadi said.