Mumbai Situation

Mumbai: Worli fishermen protest against BMC’s coastal road activities https://www.freepressjournal.in/mumbai/mumbai-worli-fishermen-protest-against-bmcs-coastal-road-activities 
Dipti Singh Friday, October 15, 2021, 09:19 AM IST

The Hindustan Construction Company (HCC) last week anchored three buoys in the fishing waters to facilitate the movement of their barges and tugboats in the areas, damaging  Worli Koliwada fishermen's  nets.

As a protest, fishermen surrounded the jetty built by the civic body for coastal road construction work. They refused to leave until the anchors’ buoys were removed. In contrast, the officials on the spot assured that the buoys would be shifted to an appropriate location by evening or the next day.

However, no development has happened yet, representatives from Worli Koliwada confirmed. Nitesh Patil, an artisan fisherman and director of Worli Koliwada Nakhwa Vyavsay Cooperative Society, alleged that no prior warning was given to them by the company or by the BMC before they dropped the anchors.

Not only this, but they also assured us that a detailed survey would be conducted to ensure the community don’t face any problems due to their activities,” Patil said. The officials asked us to give three alternate locations to anchor the buoys. “Almost 2-5 minutes away from the one now. However, by evening they did not agree to it and said it is far and away from their boundaries,” he said.

Coastal Road Project: Fishermen call for mass protest  https://www.freepressjournal.in/mumbai/coastal-road-project-fishermen-call-for-mass-protest 
Mass gathering planned at Azad Maidan on August 25 against demolition of Dadar fish market and ongoing coastal road project Pratip Acharya

The members of the fishing community in Mumbai have called for a mass gathering at Azad Maidan on August 25 to protest the demolition of Dadar fish market and the ongoing coastal road project.

According to members of the Vanchit Macchimar Sahakari Sangathana, an apex group of fishermen, nearly 2,500 families are being affected due to the ongoing coastal road project. Sanjay Baikar, spokesperson of the community said that due to the reclamation works that have taken place in the last one year, the entire marine ecology has been adversely affected, which has led to the loss of catch from the shallow waters.

“Initially we were told that reclamation was done so that the trucks and heavy vehicles can pass through during the construction works. We were also told the road will be constructed on pillars and only five per cent of the overall sea will be reclaimed,” Baikar said, adding that they realised they were being cheated only after the reclamation works began in full force. “The majority of the seashore was being reclaimed,” he said.