Kamal Haasan makes surprise visit to Ennore, speaks to fishermen to highlight encroachments on Kosaithalaiyar river

Actor Kamal Haasan who could soon turn into politician made a surprise visit to the Ennore area in Tamil Nadu to highlight encroachments on Kosaithalaiyar river, as per media reports on Saturday. Following his likely political plunge with a major announcement expected on 7 November, Haasan met with fishermen in Kattukkuppam near Ennore and spoke to them about the problems they face due to the encroachments on the Ennore creek and Kosaithalaiyar river. According to  The Times of India, he was accompanied by activist Nityanand Jayaraman, Saravanan of Coastal Resource Centre and fisherman RL Srinivasan of Kattukkuppam. [caption id=“attachment_2189735” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] File image of actor Kamal Haasan. AFP[/caption] Haasan surveyed the damage caused to the river and also spotted three power plants near the ecologically sensitive Ennore creek area. Following this, Haasan also visited Kattuppakkam village and spoke to fishermen there. Locals narrated how the encroachments by Kamarajar Port and the fly-ash from the three thermal plants adversely affected their fishing activities. Later, the actor took to Twitter to express his concern about the Kosaithalaiyar river and Ennore creek saying it is “selfish encroachments done with no environmental concern”. “The Vallur Thermal Plant and the North Chennai Thermal Power Plant continue to dump their ash in the Kosasthalai. The government has been indifferent to this though environmental activists have been protesting against these violations for years. Fisherfolk of the area working with other public are seeking to raise their voices but it’s like blowing a horn into a dead man’s ear,” the actor said, according to  Deccan Chronicle.  “Any state that does not give the poor the same help and priority that it gives to land dealers is like the riverbank that ignores a good river running by it,” the actor said and added that if steps were not taken to save the Ennore creek, nearly 10 lakh people would be affected.