World Water Day: Fisherfolks take oath to save river Mahanadi

BHUBANESWAR: More than a hundred fishermen from six villages in Sambalpur district, largely dependent on fishing from Mahanadi, on Saturday took a pledge on the bank of the Mahanadi to save it from dying on the occasion of the World Water Day observed by the Water Initiatives Odisha (WIO). The fisherfolks also pledged their support to WIO’s ‘Save Mahanadi Campaign’, informed WIO convener Ranjan Panda.

The WIO felicitated aged and retired fishermen for their peaceful and non-abusive ways of fishing for decades. “They have never indulged in violent ways such as poisoning rivers with chemicals and blasting dynamites to increase their fish catch,” said Panda, adding, “These are role models who have not been allured by cash benefit at the cost of the river and its ecology.” 

Attending the convention, Jhadeswari Kaibarta Samaj president Anand Seth said the Hirakud dam reduced fish population and diversity down streams by almost 50 per cent during the last one decade due to industrial and urban pollution upstream. “We don’t want any more large dams but a free flowing Mahanadi. We have opposed the Sindhol Dam Project and will continue to do so,” he said, adding, “We are aware that both the Chhattisgarh and Odisha Governments are going for many coal fired power plants. We are already suffering for large scale pollution by the existing plants and demand that no more coal power plant be established on Mahanadi.” 

The WIO convener said they are in the process of building people’s manifesto on water, sanitation and climate change issues. All the concerns raised by the fishermen would be incorporated into that and raised at the appropriate levels, he added.

Jagdish Mishra, Saswat Padhi, Dillip Padhi, Shishir Kar, Prashant Sahoo and Gajindra Pandey from WIO volunteered in organising this convention along with villagers of Dhama.