THATTA, May 17: A seminar on “Problems of Fishermen and Destruction of Sindh Coast” has demanded that federal and Sindh governments should ensure release of 35 million acre feet water downstream Kotri to protect the source of livelihood of residents of the Indus Delta and prevent ecological degradation.

This demand was made through a resolution under the title of “Keenjhar Declaration”, unanimously adopted at the seminar that was organized by the Pakistan Fisher Folk Forum at the Keenjhar Lake.

Speaking on the occasion, Naeem Iqbal, Fayaz Rasool, Abu Bakar Shaikh, Sikandar Brohi, G.N. Mughal and Mohammad Ali Shah deplored that the government earned Rs7 billion per year by exporting fish but it had failed to formulate a comprehensive fishing policy.

They said that the government had allowed fishing in the sea up to 12 nautical miles which was resulting in extinction of various fish species as local and foreign trawlers used to fish in deep sea through prohibited “Katra” and “Bolo” nets.

They said that some 300 tons of effluent of Karachi was being disposed of into sea which was polluting it.

The speakers said that due to the non-release of water downstream Kotri for the last five years, out of 260,000 hectares of mangrove forests, only 70,000 hectares had been left partially alive in the Indus Delta. This had deprived over five million fishermen of their source of livelihood, they further said.

They said that construction of dams and canals over the River Indus had badly affected Sindh and seawater had inundated over 1.2 million acres of its fertile land.

Criticizing the rangers for their alleged atrocities against fishermen at Zero Point in the Badin district, the speakers alleged that lakes of fresh water and a considerable area of hatcheries had forcibly been occupied by the rangers.

They said that the rangers had violated the Fisheries Act and usurped legitimate rights of fishermen.

They demanded that ban should be imposed on “Bolo”, “Katra” and “Gujo” fishing nets and those who use these nets should be jailed for three years.

The speakers said the World Bank, Asian Development Bank and other donor agencies should not fund what they called anti-Sindh projects like the Kalabagh dam, Thal canal and other upstream dams and canals.

They condemned the release of contaminated water into the Manchhar Lake.