Fisherfolk of Chennai and suburbs want subsidised engines to be distributed soon

Faced with frequent engine breakdowns, fisherfolk of Chennai, Chengalpattu, and Tiruvallur have urged the Fisheries Department to release the subsidy amount for 335 motorised boats meant for 2025.

Each engine costs around ₹75,000, with the State government providing ₹25,000 as subsidy to individual boat-owning fisherfolk.

Community leader ‘Kabaddi’ Maran said that boat engines last for a maximum of three years after which they need to repaired frequently.

“If we have proper harbours, the engines will last longer. Here, we park the boats on the sand and the repairs start in just 1.5 years. The mechanics demand quite a lot of money for repairs. We would end up spending ₹25,000 per repair,” he said.

Neelakantan, a fisherman of Nochikuppam said that 22 persons from his village had applied for engines last year in August and they were yet to get them.

“A month after we applied, someone came and verified our boats and other documents. But nothing happened after that. Earlier, we used to get engines in about a month after we applied for them,” he said.

Community leader K. Bharathi said that Tiruvallur district had applied for 115 engines, Chennai 100, and Chengalpattu 150.

“At this rate, fisherfolk would not get any engines for 2025. We are already in February 2026. Fisherfolk say they plan to stage protests if they don’t get the subsidy soon,” he said.