Part I
I got the opportunity to visit fishing communities in West Bengal during my visit in December 19-28, 2024. I got several insights and most important of them was how to transcend language and culture barriers and communicate and go for authentic in-depth conversations! And my visit was full of such conversations.
I picked up the threat from where I left in November 2024 ; Keleghai river in East Midnapur. The distance, language and cultural barriers kept my understanding incomplete then. This time I got to dig deeper. I understood that the factory on the banks of Keleghai river that is responsible for triggering pollution is dye manufacturing industrial units. These has pushed local fishing communities in uproar. They hit the streets in November 2024, submitted memorandum prior to that to various West Bengal government departments under direction from DMF. Yet there has been no relief. Industrial units responsible for polluting Keleghai river haven't been shut down.
My next station of understanding has been through personal visit to Baguran Jalpai village. This village shows scars of intensive shrimp farming on agricultural lands. No grains are cultivated on vast land as land witnesses dugged out spaces full of accumulated water with shrimps seeds left to mature into adult prawns for exports. It was my first such exposure to this reality I had never imagined. Use of chemicals in abundance coupled with release of accumulated water in natural water systems poisons entire eco-systems. It's economics needs further examination. During floods few years ago shrimps escaped all over provoking bonanza for some and heavy losses for others.
My third station of understanding came at Dadarpatra barch Matsya Khoti. I got to know about the landing centre, about nearly 100 fishing boats that toil there, about their place in supply chain, the resilient history of the fishers in this landing centre and about how sudden rains brings peril to the lives of fishers with fish drying activity being heavily jolted, fish pushed into rot and fisher bear economic loss.
My fourth station has been visit to Mandarmuni Beach, a fast urbanising space, rapidly getting concrete covers, agriculture in fertile soil pushed into coma and even recent Calcutta High Court Judgement ordering demolition of illegal concrete structures within CRZ limits has found itself in deep cold storage due to State counter-intervention to stall demolitions and nullify court direction. State values concretizing and urbanising of the coast above anything else as action speak louder than words.
I conclude this note with an indicator that more is awaiting. For this much part I am indebted to my NFSF colleagues from West Bengal and formidable network that DMF has put in place.
Part II
Second leg report of West Bengal visit: more on Mandanmuni beach
Few things still about Mandanmuni Beach visit ably facilitate by DMF leadership. Beach is under stress due to tourism and urbanising aggression. It's adjacent to Dadarpatra fish landing Beach, East Midnapur. Stress levels are evident from ongoing anti-erosion measures undertaken to stop further intrusion of sea waves landwards. Already 200 meters of land is submerged under waters and sea is on continues wavvy march. Thus happened during past one decade or so. There used to be agriculture cultivation. It's all gone under water of Bay of Bengal. Waters flashed red flag. Magnetic attraction of economic processes including shady ones has gripped this region. Beach looked exclusively for tourism and there was no fishermen or their boats anywhere visible.
I encountered this type of situation of Sea taking over extensive landward spaces at elsewhere too in West Bengal and it will be noted in further parts of this note.
For the moments it's sufficient evidence to conclude that coastal stress is real. Causes are varied, mostly rooted in economy and urging of few to dominate over other people and take ecology hostage. We got to think collectively from this realistic situations.
Part III
One of the places that had never registered on my mind was Sagar Island in Bay of Bengal. My West Bengal colleagues from NFSF proved ably resourceful in matters connected with fishers, coast and coastal livelihoods on Sagar Island. Narrative presented to me during conversations aroused lots of interest and yearnings to understand more. More so because it is important geography of Sunderbans and politically volatile. My impression about Sunderbans was hazy with tigers populating most of my imagination. Now it is challenged.
Few things I got to as insights and I take this space to share here.
It's about One hour journey in regular operating passenger boats in waters operating from Namkhana Jetty to Sagar Island. We got into one of those boats just before sunset and navigated to Island to reach our destination at early hours of night.
Sagar Island has about two lakh people residing and Island is encircled by sandy beaches. Most of the people has fishing as their occupation. They construct make shifts huts of non-concrere material during fishing season known as "zopdis" in plural and "zopdi" in singular, and then move to the permanent houses during fishing off season. Twelve Months of the year are shared in the two locations with some defined proportions.
On the Island there are several fishers societies or "somitees" dedicated to protecting fishers' interest. I had privilege of meeting few of them and interacting with as leaders of fish landing centers. Few names I encountered :Sagar Sangam marine khoti somobai somoti, Sagar sangam Bunirkhal Onogrosor Sankhyalogo Marine Matsyajibi khoti samiti, Sagar matsyajibi marine khoti somobai Somoti, D.K. Sagar Ma Ganga Marine Somobai Khoti Somoti. I got to meet office bearers of couple of these and discuss issues they were confronting fishing, fish drying.
Two things were shared with me with request to take things further. First is annual invasion of fishing spaces on Island due to touristic expansion of cultural festival that takes place on 14-15 January. Combination of Political machinations has ensured that the local area fishing somoti remains in docile and submissive mode in the face of open invasion. Annual takeover of fishing spaces are effected more because of fishers opposed abrupt en mass take over of their land some years ago. Now strategy of invasion has been re-structured and this is the reality posing challenge to fishing communities on Sagar Island.
Second issue is bi-yearly anti-erosion measures taken up on the beach. I am informed that tenders are issued and taken to use stones for anti-erosion measures but actually mud is used that gets washed away in time. So new tender. This form of corruption is the charge of local fishing communities. One needs to examine various experiences of anti-erosion measures on coast and devise strategy for intervention. Literate stones or other kind of stones are desirable for anti-erosion measures? Mud is desirable for the same purpose? And of course corruption as an issue needs to death with too but there is a need for leadership to get back into drawing room and examine fundamentals of anti-erosion measures for this will crop up all over coast across India and in fact has already did.
What is the responsibility of Organisations in this context? What should be the way to get greater in-depth understanding of fishing communities vis-a-vis anti-erosion interface unfolding?
Sagar Island allows us the opportunity to engage deeper on these issues and let's make best of it!
Part IV
Glimpse into fish famine site at Frazerganz
After visit to fishing abundance sites on Sagar Island in Sunderbans I found guided to fishing sites of descending sorrows. Once buzzing fishing landing site known locally as "Khoti" system had got into unusual crisis of our times. It's fish landing cum fish drying site at Frazerganj, Baliyada in South 24 Pargana District. There is remarkable presence of small scale fishing (SSF) communities with their outboard motor fitted cannoes as well as trawlers at this beach site.
However past one month from around November 2024 entire fishing livelihood systems has taken a jolt: No fish gets trapped in fishing nets.
There is crisis at the very foundation of fishing supply chain, Sea. Both cannoes of SSF an well as trawlers return to the shore almost without any fish, near empty or full empty.
Impact of the crisis was visible rather dramatically. Fish drying sites of vast sizes were fully empty with blue floor covering fully visible. Handful of these fish drying sites were taken over by young boys playing rudimentary football oblivion to the fact that community has entered inside the belly of scarcity in accentuated form- the famine. Perhaps these boys were wise enough to play than stress ridden elderly men in brawl and horizontal hostilities and intoxication.
Fishers at fish landing sites has firm economic strings attached. SSF Fishers take loans from few private individuals to maintain their fishing business. In return they pledge to hand over all the fish they cath to the same individuals: full quantity every time for entire season. These private individuals then take the trapped fish fresh as well as dried one and market it in their network at various places in India and even out of India. Fishers get their finance and individuals get their fish supply and profits.
This chain of rather informal yet stable arrangement has taken a jolt over a month at this site.
Various causes are attributed for having caused such an umpreedented situation such as overfishing by trawlers and purse seiners as well as climate crisis that we hear from media sources. Perhaps it could be both contributing in varying proportions.
Even though things might get cleared after scientific findings trickles in after many years certain quick decions are needed. Continuity of trawl fishing gears as well as purse seine fishing nets needs to be revisited and acted upon rather urgently. However there is tremendous deficiency of political will to do so and this could lead to further intensification of the crisis that may even trigger conflicts and suicides.
It is very important to monitor the emerging situation very closely as every day gone without fish catch is tickling time bomb. How it's going to be effectively defused? What measures required to effectively navigate lives of Fisher navigators to the other end of crisis? Or is there end to this crisis? Do our Unions have surplus preparedness to face this kind of situations in rest of India? What lessons do we have to learn and offer from each other? What responsibilities and responses government of West Bengal has taken so far? What's the think tanks at Indian Home Ministry pondering upon as disaster is in their purview?
I am grateful to my colleagues from NFSF and DMF for making my visit smooth sailing in West Bengal fishing. It's been great learning first hand exposure and few more posts will follow in days to come.
Part V
Brief impressionistic note on fishwork and allied themes at Lalganj Beach fish landing centre in Namkhana block of South 24 Parganas District
This is one of the sites with active fishwork in action. Men and Women work on variety of fishwork functions. People have their permanent houses in villages but entire families shift on beach during fishing season in temporary thatched shelters. They go to Bay of Bengal waters and harvest fish in their nets with varied mesh sizes.
Fish drying is dominant activity of this this beach. Each family has its space to dry fish and after that to market it in well oiled Khoti system.
Transportation is available right from the beach. I heard the name "toto" for the first time for transportation vehicle that runs on battery with completely flexible seating freedom. It was amazing learning experience!
Workforce composition of this beach is about 150 adults that includes 50 men and 100 women. 100 women includes 36 "marine widows". Marine widows are women who lost their husbands in some accident in Bay of Bengal while fishing or related work. I heard about "marine widows" for the first time too. Marine widows have an organisation and leadership of their own facilitated by DMF at District level in South 24 Parganas.
I also came to know that similar organisation is also functioning of "Tiger Widows" with active back up from DMF. These are women whose husbands are killed due to tiger attacks in Sunderban forest where such conflicts are very common. Tiger attacks are very common in the locality. While I was at Lalganj Beach I got to know about latest Tiger attack 45 kms away in Moypith village where Tiger brushed his paw on the back of man's neck to effect bloodshed and instant death. Besides humans Tiger's common target includes cows, goats. Amongst humans men get attacked while foraging for fish in the Interior of forest.
There are multiple crisis that are surfacing in the context of Sunderbans. Fish is moving Interior of Sunderbans where tigers move around. To catch fish men venture into deep wild. In the process often gets killed or injured in tiger attack. Fish moves Interior for several reasons. One of them is pollution of water. Source of pollution being Kolkatta city. It is important to connect people working sunderband with those working on pollution and sanitation issues in Kolkata city. Two needs to have some level of collaboration.
Additionally there are constant hostilities between forest department policies and fishing communities at theoretical and practical level. Forest conservation policies excludes human from conservation and rewards expulsion. While human fishers assert their right to fishing in conserved areas of Sunderbans. 51 years of Sunderbans history is indeed a series of tragedy and misery, bloodshed and sorrow, violence and expulsion on communities.
Lalganj Beach that currently hosts fish drying activities has certain pressure from forest department to plant mangroves on the beach. It will spell death knell to fishing communities. In fact at few kilometres distance from Lalganj Beach there is visible Luthiana Island under control of forest department. Local fishers as well as tourists are banned from entering there.
Lalgunj Beach front has lost around 5 kms due to erosion and water has come inside land wards.
Pressues imposed by these complex dynamics are enormous and needs organised well thought out responses.
My visit to West Bengal was ably facilitated by NFSF and DMF leadership Pradip Chatterjee, Debasis Shyamal, Milan Das, Abdar Mallick, Rina Das, Satyaranjan Jana and Nikhil Das and I remain grateful to all my colleagues from West Bengal.
I hope above notes will be helpful insights for timely and effective interventions at various levels.
Sebastiao Rodrigues
General Secretary,
NFSF
