BADIN: Hundreds of activists of Pakistan Fisherfolk Forum (PFF) on Wednesday staged a demonstration outside Aiwan-i-Sahafat in protest against illegal occupation of Kakaho lake in Sanghar district by Hingorjo community and other lakes by feudal lords in coastal belt of the province.

PFF’s Haji Nabi Bux Mallah, Mohammad Umar, Mohammad Qasim and others, who led the procession, said that the forum had been protesting for a long time against powerful landlords for rendering hundreds of fishermen jobless. These feudal lords continued to encroach upon lakes and snatching fishing rights from poor fishermen, they said.

They regretted that since the abolition of contract system and introduction of fishing license regime, the fishermen had been facing massive difficulties in catching fish in lakes as the influential landlords, who enjoyed political and administrative support, forcibly stopped them from fishing through their hired armed men.

They said that local fishermen were also threatened with implication in bogus cases. All the lakes in Kakaho area had been encroached upon by influential persons of Hingorjo community with the help of Hathungo police. They did not allow local fishermen to catch fish and thus deprive them of their livelihood, they said.

They accused police of taking away nets of the poor fishermen and said that there was no drinking water in coastal belt of Badin district and livestock, birds and wild animals were dying from thirst.

The protesters demanded the Sindh government end encroachment on all sweet water lakes and serve justice to marginalised fishing community.

They said the forum had been consistently struggling for the rights of local fishermen on lakes and would launch a phased movement across the province.

The protesters also observed a sit-in on Shah Latif Road for over two hours.

Published in Dawn, July 4th, 2024