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Chilika fishermen restive

BHUBANESWAR: The Chilika Mastchyajibee Mahasangha (CMS), an association of traditional fishermen living in and around Chilika Lake, threatened to disrupt vehicular movements on national highways and train services if the Orissa Government tried to table a bill that envisages sharing their fishing rights in the State Assembly.

Reacting to media reports that Public Accounts Committee had proposed the State Government to introduce the bill in coming session, CMS said fishermen would do everything to scuttle the move as it would jeopardise their livelihood.

“Non-traditional fishermen (mostly mafias of prawn culture) controls about 40 per cent of the fishery sources in Chilika. Once their presence is legalised, the very survival of fisher folk will be jeopardised,” CMS President Balaram Das said addressing a press conference here on Thursday.

The livelihood options of fishermen families was shrunk over the years due to prawn gheries, birds sanctuary, dolphin preservation and promotion of tourism, Mr. Das pointed out. Fishermen had sole rights over all fishery sources in Chilika Lake while mafias had been slowly encroaching these sources with active support from administration and the Chilika Fishing Regulatory Bill was another attempt to make them legal dependant on fishing resources, CMS President said. The bill would adversely affect fishermen living in 145 villages .

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