HYDERABAD, April 10: The Pakistan Fisherfolk Forum said on Tuesday that a nexus of bureaucrats, contractors and influential people was scuttling the implementation of government’s decision to abolish contract system for fishing in sweet water resources of the province.

The forum leaders Mustafa Mirani, Pir Bux Mallah and Ramzan Mallah said a news conference at the press club that the Sindh government appeared to be serious in abolishing the contract system but the nexus of bureaucrats, contractors and influential people was trying to misguide the government and create hurdles to the implementation of its decision.

Mr Mirani said that tens of thousands of fishermen had launched a consistent struggle for the abolition of contract system for catching fish in 1,260 sweet water resources of the province but the fisheries department had always supported the contractors and influential people to maintain its control over the sweet waters resources.

He said that the government had introduced licence system for catching fish in three big water resources of the provinces - Keenjhrar and Manchhar lakes and River Indus downstream Kotri. The fishermen saw the decision as a first step towards total abolition of contract system, he said.

He said that on Jan 16, 2007, the forum and a number of other fishermen associations submitted a 33-point charter of demands, foremost among them was abolition of contract system, to the provincial secretary for fisheries who approved the charter and promised to recommend it to the chief minister.

The government had made a principled decision to abolish the system but now the bureaucracy was dilly-dallying on issuing a notification in this regard. In the meanwhile, one sweet water resource in Kashmore had been auctioned with an aim to prolong the contract system, he said.

Mr Mirani said that the forum had decided to resume its phase-wise struggle starting from Karachi on April 27 to force the government to expedite the abolition of contract system.

He said that rallies would also be held in Thatta, Badin, Sanghar, Nawabshah, Sakrand, Sukkur, Larkana, Qambar, Moen Jo Daro, Manchhar Lake, Hyderabad and several other towns of the province while a big meeting of fishermen would be held at Sindh Museum on May 5.

He appealed to the Sindh chief minister to attend the meeting and officially announce the abolition of contract system.