The fishing community of Sunderban Tiger Reserve is on a three-day fast from Wednesday in protest against the denial of their right to livelihood of fishery, collection of wild honey, shell and dry wood. They also strongly opposed the non-implementation of Forest Rights Act (FRA) in Sunderbans.
Thousands of members organised under Sunderban Matsyajibi Joutha Sangram Committee and Dakshin Banga Matsyajibi Forum (DMF) also protested outside the Sunderban Headquarters at Canning on Thursday.The community residing in the fringe villages of Sunderbans is largely forest fishers catching fish and crabs in the watery jungles. The members protested against the increasing restrictions by the forest department.
In the absence of implementation of FRA, they protested against the torture meted out to them by the forest department and the irregularities in the distribution of the existing boat license cards. “While the poor and small scale fishers battling for their livelihood are persecuted by the forest department,” said Pradip Chatterjee, President DMF. This results in depletion of natural resources which have also been worsened by unregulated tourism and pollution caused as a result, said Arjun Mandal, a forest fisher leading the Sunderban Rural Development Society in lahiripur.