The World Wetland Day was observed on February 2. The Chilika Matsyajibi Mahasangah celebrated the day at Barhmpur village with an objective that the Chilika lake being their present and future source of livelihood should be protected from ecological degradation. Barhmapur is an island village within the Chilika lagoon near Satapar village in the east coast of Bay of Bengal. Barhmapur is a fishermen’s village, where over 200 families live. The village is also important from tourism point of view. Barhampur is an ideal site for viewing small deer black buck called Baliharin. An ancient deity is located near the village along the outer channel. The composition of flora and fauna is very rich.
The writer had an opportunity to be a guest on the Wetland Day occasion. Mostly, women participated in the festivity. Krushna Chandra Jena, who leads the Mahasangha, along with other activities expressed their anguish as the water of the Chilika is polluted through oil spills of motorboats engaged for ferrying passengers and of fishing trawlers. They said that about 3,000 motorboats are operating in the lake. Besides, fishing trawlers catch fishes and other aquatic commodities from the lagoon. Every day, there is spilling of petrol, diesel, engine oil, etc., from the motor launches. If a launch discharges minimum one-tenth of a litre per trip of such oil per trip, in totality all these launches definitely discharge enormous amount of oil into the lagoon water daily. The pollution causes harm to the flora and fauna of this Ramsar Site. The fish production is dropping alarmingly, which worries the fisher folk. Nearly 15,000 fishermen families depend on the lagoon for their livelihood. The Chilika, qualified as a Ramsar wetland site, acts as nature’s several mega industries, which not only produces enormous aquatic products like fishes of different varieties but provides large-scale employment to the local people. So the health of the lagoon should be maintained, for which the oil pollution must be stopped forthwith. The locals say battery-engine boats should be used as against oil-driven boats. The State Pollution Control Board and the National Green Tribunal must intervene. The Chilika Development Authority has turned a deaf ear to the issue.
Another complaint of the locals is that large chunks of land of the lagoon are encroached by powerful people for agricultural crops or prawn culture. The Forest and Environment and Climate Change Department is taking no steps against the encroachments. The Chilika lake comes under three districts, Puri, Khordha and Ganjam. So, the revenue administrations of these districts should jointly act to make the lagoon encroachment-free.
Problem 3 is that prawn cultivation through artificial gheries (ponds and hatcheries) is not stopped by the State administration, especially the Chilika Development Authority despite repeated complaints by local people. Artificial chemical feeds and pesticides are used for agricultural crops and prawns to get marketable size of products within the shortest period, which pollute the ecological status of the lagoon. The contamination results in a sharp decline in the normal health of the lagoon. Further, the silting of the lagoon is a regular phenomenon due to unrestricted anthropogenic products, leading to increasing freshwater species and eradication of saltwater species. If such things continue, very soon the whole Chilika will turn into a freshwater swamp and the unique value of Chilika will be lost very soon in the world map of tourism. The ecological climate of the wetland is changing fast. Fishermen races are apprehending an acute unemployment situation within a short period as the fish catches get reduced day by day. The over-exploitation of fish resources without giving the desired rest to the lagoon is another worrying factor. local youths have started going outside the State to seek jobs.
Due to mismanagement of habitats of mammals, the dugong species is vanished from Chilika. A recent census showed only very few dolphins in the lake. Maintenance of the salinity level across the lake is a major problem. The local folks desire to be associated with the developmental activities as everything is now done by the Chilika Development Authority without the knowledge of the local people.
(The writer is a former forest officer. Email: nadiya.kanungo@gmail.com. Mob: 9937460649)