Residents of Nambiyar Nagar, a fishing settlement in Nagapattinam, are burdened by significant debt accumulated from a government-promoted fishing harbour project initiated in 2019. Families borrowed between ₹5 lakh to ₹8 lakh each under a self-sufficiency scheme, leading to a collective liability exceeding ₹20 crore. Villagers claim the harbour, completed in 2023, lacks essential facilities like an ice plant and adequate depth, forcing them to use a neighboring harbour. They allege being pushed into this scheme while similar projects in other villages were government-funded.