the goan I network
CANACONA
In a first of its kind, the Khola panchayat on Sunday resolved that fishing is a traditional occupation and nobody could stop the activity on flimsy grounds.
On August 6 during the gram sabha, some residents near the Nuem beach had complained about the noise created by fishermen over their traditional activities on the shore and as such a special meeting was fixed on August 12 to sort out the matter between the two groups.
Taking up the complaint, Sarpanch Purna Nayak in the presence of Deputy Sarpanch Pandhari P Desai, panch Guru Velip, and people of Nuem, read out the complaint to everyone. The sarpanch however, regretted the absence of complaining party and said henceforth no further complaint will be considered or entertained from same people by the panchayat.
Debating the issue, the members felt that there was no much noise pollution during the fishing activities along the shore and that the fishermen were just following tradition. “While pulling a boat or the net, there ought to be some noise created by the fishermen. It is needed to egg on the labourers engaged in the activity”, a resident said.
The panchayat also defended the timing of the activity saying it depends on the high tide or the low tide and accordingly the net is cast. This tradition has been going on for ages and there should be no restrictions on the timing of fishing activity, the panchayat felt.On parking of vehicles, the panchayat decided to use the space along the roads so that there would be no obstruction to anyone.
The panchayat also rubbished allegations that unwanted fish was dumped by the fishermen on the shore after their activity was over and that the fishing community always kept the area clean.
The sarpanch urged residents not to release their toilet waste water into the sea and asked them to stop it immediately. Allegations of soil erosion during the fishing activity were also denied and fishermen said stones were placed along the shore to contain soil erosion. They however said they were not responsible for the sand erosion caused by high tide.
The sarpanch assured that the traditional fishing activity will continue to go on and there were no moves to stop it. The Khola panchayat is fully supportive of it, he said. A copy of resolution will be sent to the mamlatdar, BDO, Deputy Collector, Cuncolim Police station and others concerned, he said.
Eknath Pagi, a resident placed the points on behalf of fishermen. Others who spoke in support of fishermen were Sunil Pagi, Prashant Kholkar. The vote of thanks proposed by Prashant Kholkar.
