When the fish begin to die
THE sea has advanced to their doorsteps but they have to go far and wide to catch fish. These are the fisherfolk of Ratnagiri district, which accounts for nearly Rs 500 crore of the foreign exchange the country earns from the exports from fisheries. The breakwaters, jetties, big trawlers and stepped-up industrial activity are threatening their livelihood.
And that is why, when they heard of the looming construction of a copper smelting plant along with a jetty, their reaction was hostile. Panduranga Patil of Mirya village, located along the coast, recalls, "The men and women reacted strongly when we heard about the plans to remove us from our old village to make way for a conveyor belt for the copper plant. When the Sterlite people came, the women snatched away their papers and equipment."
The fish have moved away, claim the villagers, because of the discharge of effluents from several units, like the Finolex resin factory.
Mohd Yasin Kotwadekar of Sakhartar village says, "We used to start our fishing season from the Ranpar area where the Finolex factory has come up. There was enough catch. Today we have to go deep. The activity of big trawlers has also scared away the fish."