Fishermen face a double whammy

Lockdown and fishing ban leave traditional fishermen in the lurch

Fishermen are not allowed to catch fish in the backwater of Hemavati reservoir. For them, lockdown has continued for two more months. File photos by Prakash Hassan

Earlier it was COVID-19 lockdown and now it is ban on fishing in rivers that is affecting the fishermen community on the backwaters of Hemavati reservoir. Without being allowed to catch fish, around 60 families of Shillekyatas are struggling.

The Fisheries Department has issued licenses to local people to fish in Hemavati backwaters. Shillekyata families, a tribal community, have put up tents on the banks of the backwaters in Chowdahalli, Konapura, Shettihalli and other villages in Hassan taluk. Their only source of income is fishing with no land as back up. “If we don’t catch fish, our family members have to remain hungry,” said Subramanya, a member of the community.

During lockdown, they could not catch fish. Even if some people could, they had no opportunities to sell. “We ran out of all our savings during lockdown. A few families with ration cards got foodgrains from the State government. Now, again ban has been imposed, making our lives difficult,” said Mr. Subramanya.

Representatives of the community met the officials and placed their demand to allow fishing, but in vain. “As a policy, fishing is banned in all waterbodies in June and July. This is a breeding season for fish. If we allow catching fish during these two months, it would affect the yield in the next season. We cannot allow fishing violating the policy,” R. Vivek, Senior Assistant Director of the department, told

The Hindu .

The officers in the department maintain that the fishermen community had difficulty during lockdown only for a short duration. “Later there was a huge demand for fish when the sale of chicken was stopped due to bird flu scare,” said the officer.

‘Reality hidden’

However, the fishermen reject the officers’ statement. “The officers are hiding reality. The police did not allow movement of the public during lockdown. How can one expect fishermen to carry fish to the market? Moreover, the market itself was closed down,” pointed out Mari Joseph, an office-bearer of Dalit Human Rights Forum. The fishermen have demanded the State government allow them to fish, or else provide them food and other essential items till the ban is lifted.