Demanding the removal of sand bars that got formed in the river mouth in Pazhaverkadu in Tiruvallur district, fishermen from more than 25 fishing hamlets in Gummidipoondi and Arambakkam areas staged a protest in Pazhaverkadu on Monday. One of the fishermen, Chandramohan of Pazhaverkadu, said sand bars have got formed at the Kosasthalayar river mouth, where it enters into the sea. Only a medium quantity of sand bar formation will be there during monsoon and in other seasons huge quantity of sand will form the bar, which will affect the flow of water from the river to the sea and vice-versa. During high tide, sea water will enter the river through the mouth and during low tide river water will flow into the sea. This is very important for the fresh water as well as the marinewater organisms to survive. This flow of water is now affected due to sand bar formation. The livelihood of fishermen will be affected if the water flow was cut, hence the protest, he said. South Indian Fishermen Welfare Association president K Bharathi said the fishermen and women from more than 25 fishing villages joined the protest. All these years, the local fishing community used to hire an earthmover and used it for removing the sand bars, to allow the free flow of water. The district administration will pay a small sum to the fishing community for their work. Fisheries department officials and district administration officials who came to the spot told the protestors that they have funds to clear the sand bars. However, a clearance certificate is needed from the environment department, which is awaited. Once that is received the sand bars will be cleared on a regular basis. However, not convinced with the officials’ reply, the protestors have planned to continue the protest for the second consecutive day on Tuesday in Pazhaverkadu bazaar area. Fishermen and women from the neighbouring Andhra Pradesh state too extended their support to the fishermen in Pazhaverkadu, as they also faced a similar problem in their village, Bharathi added.