Fishermen may not have to worry about the formation of sand bars at the mouth of the Pulicat lake as the state is set to start building training walls. Construction of a training wall is necessary, as fishermen are unable to enter the sea from the lake due to the frequent formation of sandbars. At present, sandbars are dredged using excavators.
The state was directed to obtain permission from the National Board of Wildlife as work must be taken up in a bird sanctuary area. The state fisheries department sent the ₹26 crore proposal to the state board for wildlife. The state board forwarded the proposal to the National Board for Wildlife.
A permanent solution to avoid the formation of sandbars is to build a training wall on both the south and north sides of the river mouth. A similar project has been taken up at the Cooum River mouth near Napier Bridge, said a wildlife official.
When contacted, a senior wildlife official said the National Board for Wildlife is meeting on November 7, in which one of the agenda items is the approval of constructing a training wall on the Pulicat Lake mouth. “ The clearance can be expected within a short period of time,” he said.