August 24, 2007	Friday	Sha’aban 10, 1428

HYDERABAD, Aug 23: The Sanghar chapter of the Pakistan Fisherfolk Forum (PFF) on Thursday threatened to stage a series of demonstrations and hunger strikes from Chotiari Dam to Hyderabad if the government did not issue a notification, categorically stating abolition of contract system for catching fish in all the freshwater resources of the province.

The PFF office-bearers, Mustafa Mirani, Pir Bux Mallah, Rasool Bux Mallah and Taj Mohammad Mallah, said at a news conference at the press club that the chief minister had announced abolition of contract system while addressing a large gathering of fishermen, officials of the fisheries department, elected representatives and high-ups of Rangers at Zero Point in Badin on April 21, 2007, following PFF’s warning that it would stage a long march for its demands.

The chief minister had promised then that the government would issue licenses after payment of a paltry sum ranging between Rs100 to Rs500 and also announced welfare schemes for the fishermen before a host of TV cameras and journalists.

Then adviser to chief minister on fisheries, Jadam Mangrio, had also publicly announced on two occasions that the contract system had been abolished.

The fishermen were overjoyed to hear the news and distributed sweets to celebrate their success but their joy proves short lived as the announcement never followed a notification, explicitly abolishing contract system even after passage of four months, nor any lake was auctioned, they said.

The vacuum was filled by influential landlords and contractors who forcibly took over control of all the freshwater resources in the province with the help and connivance of fisheries officials and police, they said.

They said that the contractors forcibly ejected fishermen from the lakes and other freshwater resources at many places. An influential contractor, Asif Nizamani, had taken over control of Chotiari Dam by setting up check posts after ejecting fishermen.

They accused Mr Nizamani of even violating the stay order issued by court and demanded legal action against him for stopping fishermen from catching fish in the dam.

The forum’s office-bearers said that there were 16 small and large freshwater lakes and ponds in Sanghar, including Chotiari Dam. The forum, with the support of tens of thousands of fishermen, had been struggling for the abolition of contract system and during the course of their struggle, they had been baton charged and incarcerated. Even their women were not spared by police, they said.

“Might is right” was the order of the day in the province leaving the forum with no other option but to resume its protest against delay in the issuance of notification on the abolition of contract system and introduction of licence system.

They said that more than 15,000 fishermen had been settled around the sweet water resources for centuries and they had no other source of livelihood. There were 15 villages of fishermen around Chotiari Dam, which was spread over 150,000 acres and 12,000 people were totally dependent on the dam.

They said that officially contract system had been abolished only in three freshwater resources, Manchhar and Keenjhar lakes and downstream Kotri Barrage, where licence system had been introduced.