HYDERABAD, Aug 21: Leaders of the Save Manchhar Alliance on Thursday demanded that the contract system be done away at the Manchhar Lake and the license system be reintroduced. They also demanded a judicial inquiry against the officials of the fisheries department and the contractors.

Speaking at a news conference at the press club, they said Dadu district should be declared a calamity-hit area, fishermen should be helped in repairing their boats and nets, agricultural loans should be written off and embankments of various waterways, falling into the lake, should be strengthened.

They said due to the wrong policies of the government, the lake had been ruined and 40,000 fishermen had migrated to other areas. However, they said, in the wake of recent rains, the Manchhar received fresh water and the fishermen returned to it.

They maintained instead of giving compensation to the fishermen, the government introduced a contract system at the lake.

The leaders remarked the contractor of the lake was fishing without any permit or payment and was also trying to keep the water level at 10 feet instead of 13 whereas the contractor of the Main Nara Valley drain intended to release poisonous water into the lake, which would destroy the Manchhar again.