Tension prevails near Kalpakkam as clashes erupt between two fishing communities

Tension prevailed near Kalpakkam in Chengalpattu district after clashes between two fishing communities continued for the second consecutive day.

Sibin, Superintendent of Police (SP), Chengalpattu district, visited the spot and held talks with the residents. Several fishermen from both sides and personnel from the Armed Police suffered injuries when stones were thrown at them and were admitted to a hospital.

Pudupattinam and Uyyalikuppam fishing hamlets, located close to each other near Kalpakkam, have had longstanding disputes. Every year, the Mayana Kollai temple festival is conducted in Pudupattinam. This year marked its 80^th year and it was to be held on Monday (February 16, 2026), and preparations were under way for a milk-pot procession (paalkudam) to the Angalamman temple in Pudupattinam.

For the past two years, a dispute over what constitutes the common area has persisted between the fishermen of the two villages. When the milk-pot procession was organised on Sunday as part of the rituals, fishermen from Uyyalikuppam waylaid it, stating that it should not pass through their territory. As a result, the residents of Pudupattinam waited from morning without proceeding with the ritual.

The door of a house in the locality that was broken during the clash on Monday.
| Photo Credit:
Special arrangement

More than 300 people staged a sit-in protest on Sunday. The land dispute between the two communities is already pending in a court. Revenue officials, led by senior police officers, held peace talks with representatives of both fishing panchayats, but no compromise was reached. Losing patience, members of both sides entered into a heated argument, which escalated into a clash. Both sides threw stones at each other, leaving more than six persons injured. Villagers took the injured persons to the hospital.

As tensions escalated, Armed Reserve and special police forces were deployed on Sunday night. Despite the security presence, fresh clashes broke out again on Monday morning between the two groups, leaving fishermen and one Armed Police personnel injured. During the violence, houses, household articles, and two-wheelers belonging to fishermen from both sides were damaged.

Accusing the police of failing to prevent the violence, fishermen from Pudupattinam staged a road blockade and sit-in protest demanding the arrest of those involved in the attacks. Owing to the tense situation, personnel from the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) have also been deployed to maintain security in the area, police sources said.