BHUBANESWAR: Members of the fishermen community in Chilika have urged the state government to ban the cruise service and remove illegal prawn gheries from the lagoon alleging they are posing a serious threat to their livelihood.
The members of the Chilika Mastchyajibee Mahasangha, who have sought intervention of the CM, the chief secretary and the Chilika Development Authority (CDA) have also urged to impose ban on use of fine mesh nets in the lagoon, alleging their use is killing the fish fingerlings, severely impacting fish production in the lake over a period of time.
Mahasangha member and president of Ambika Primary Fishermen Society Prakash Behera said the cruise vessel service and other cruise lines operating in the lagoon have posed a major threat to the livelihood of thousands of members of the fishermen community. “Fishermen are now facing extreme difficulties in fishing in the stretch from Barkul to Maa Kalijai temple owing to movement of large vessels,” he added.
Behera further alleged that mafia from the non-fishermen community have also set up illegal prawn gheries at multiple sites, preventing flow of the saline water to the lake thereby affecting its marine ecosystem. Members of the Mahasangha alleged that despite a ban on prawn culture in the lagoon since 1999, illegal prawn gheries have been thriving in the system in the recent years due to poor enforcement.
Mahasangha president Shyamsundar Behera in a letter to the state government also said that increasing siltation has been affecting the livelihood of fishermen. The Mahasangha members threatened to intensify protest if their grievances are not addressed soon.