A fishermen’s union in Mumbai alleged on Monday that police stopped and detained them while they were on their way to protest at the suburban collector’s office in Bandra east against the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC)’s proposed Manori desalination project. The Akhil Maharashtra Machhimar Kruti Samiti alleged that police detained their bus drivers and seized the bus keys.
The group called it an attempt to suppress the voice of the Koli community. The fishermen were planning to demonstrate against the desalination project to protect their traditional fishing grounds, livelihoods and the marine environment. The group sought clarification on the legal grounds for the police action.
“For the Koli community, the sea is not merely a source of income, it is our ancestral home, our culture and our identity,” said Bernard D’Mello, working president of the Akhil Maharashtra Machhimar Kruti Samiti and a resident of Uttan. “Generations of Kolis have lived along this coastline and depended on the sea for their livelihood. Any project that threatens the health of the sea and traditional fishing grounds threatens the survival of the Koli way of life.”
The group raised concerns about the project’s proposed large-scale seawater intake and discharge of concentrated hypersaline brine into the Arabian Sea, pointing out that the discharge could affect marine biodiversity, fish breeding and nursery areas and the traditional fishing grounds on which fishing communities depend.
They questioned the submissions made by the project proponent before the Maharashtra Coastal Zone Management Authority, saying that they did not adequately reflect the conditions on the ground and concerns raised by fishing communities.