India, Oct. 27 -- "It feels like history is repeating itself," says P Prabhakaran. Pointing to the village of Karikattu Kuppam, Prabhakaran, a social worker based in Chennai, tells Down To Earth (DTE), "This village was devastated by the December 2004 tsunami, leaving 1,320 fishers without a home. They spent two decades getting back on their feet, but now face new threats." Some 6 km away, in Kovalam village, D Mahendran, who comes from a long line of fishers, fears that the only livelihood he knows will cease in a few months.

Prabhakaran and Mahendran's concerns stem from the Mamallan reservoir, being constructed on the Kovalam-Nemmeli wetland in Tamil Nadu. Former chief minister M K Stalin laid the foundation stone for the Rs 471-crore...