PMK leader Anbumani Ramadoss on Friday opposed the construction of the three-km-long compound wall and a walkway on the Pallikaranai Marshland, as part of ‘Neithal Restoration and Conservation Work’.

He urged the Tamil Nadu government to halt the work, remove the structures that have already been built, and restore those areas, failing which the PMK would launch massive protests. 

He condemned the TVK government for continuing the project initiated by the DMK, and said it could cause flooding in the area. He said that two immediate measures need to be implemented to restore the Pallikaranai Marshland.

“The encroachments on the marshland, which has shrunk from 15,000 acres to just 1,750 acres today, should be removed, and its boundaries should be demarcated and notified officially. Instead, the DMK government began an effort that would further destroy the marshland,” Dr. Anbumani said.

He further said, “While the Tamil Nadu government should be removing encroachments from the Pallikaranai Marshland, it is itself encroaching upon it by constructing a 3-km-long, 6-foot-high retaining wall and, inside it, a 2-km-long walkway. Both the retaining wall and the walkway have been constructed in a manner that obstructs the natural flow of water. As a result, rainwater generated by rainfall in the area and in other parts of Chennai will not be able to flow into the Pallikaranai marshland, causing waterlogging and flooding.”