In Row Over Fishing Settlement, Chennai May Lose Beach Where Turtles Nest

Chennai may lose an ecologically sensitive beach to encroachers if authorities do not act immediately. An illegal residential layout, consisting of 100 concrete houses, is being planned behind a prominent temple and barely 50 metres from the water's edge; one such house is already being built. In addition, rubble is being dumped on the beach with a view to laying three roads, in clear violation of Coastal Regulation Zone (CRZ) notifications under the Environment Protection Act of 1986.