Overview
- Fisherfolk found tonnes of dead fish and other aquatic life along a multi-kilometre stretch of the Kosasthalaiyar River and Ennore estuary, a crisis first noticed on Saturday and visible across banks and mangroves.
- Local fishers and community leaders say contaminated industrial discharge carried through the Buckingham Canal from the Manali side or hot cooling-water releases from nearby thermal plants caused the kill.
- Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board and Fisheries Department teams collected water and fish samples and sent them to labs for analysis but have not yet released definitive results.
- Protesters from eight villages blocked the Thazhankuppam main road and demanded an investigation that names responsible industries, removal of dead biomass, compensation equal to one year’s livelihood, and local jobs.
- The incident revives long‑running concerns about pollution in the Manali‑Ennore industrial belt, recalling the 2017 Ennore oil spill and 2023 cyclone‑related releases and raising risks to thousands of fishing households and the estuary’s recovery.