Fisherfolk say sea memorial for Shivaji will hit them hard

MUMBAI: Fishermen’s representatives have strongly protested the creation of the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj memorial in the Arabian sea as it would drastically affect their livelihood.
Fishermen said there would be reclamation in the area and they would also be prevented from fishing in the vicinity of the memorial which would take away their livelihood.They also demanded compensation for the same.
The fishermen put forth their grievances before the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Science and Technology, Environment and Forests. They pointed out that currently they fish in the area and the construction that will be carried out for the memorial will harm the marine ecology in the area.
Fishermen from Uran also pointed out mangroves, wetlands are being reclaimed by JNPT, ONGC and CIDCO for their expansion programmes in the area. ''Uran is one of the largest coastal land in Maharashtra. If all this is reclaimed then our livelihoods will be destroyed. We want them to stop reclamation and compensate us for the loss of our livelihood,’’ said Nandkumar Pawar who represented the fishermen from Uran.
The Committee is on a two-day visit to the city to hold hearings on issues relating to urban infrastructure and urban renewal in Mumbai and surrounding areas.
Ashwani Kumar, chairperson of the committee said issues of noise pollution, coastal regulation zone violations, release of untreated sewage into the sea, mangroves, conditions of fishermen, open spaces were placed before the committee.
'' Around 300 million people are expected to migrate to cities over the next 20 to 25 years. Therefore, it is necessary to apprise ourselves of the situation. We are aware that Mumbai is a city in decay and we need to understand the enormity of the problem,’’ he said.
Officials from various state departments, BMC, MMRDA also made presentations before the committee. They have been asked to submit a concrete plan of action, recommendation, proposals and solutions within the next two weeks. These will be incorporated into the report, he said.
The report will be submitted to Parliament within three months. ''Thereafter the government will need to submit an Action Taken Report within six months,’’ said Kumar.
The committee will visit the Bhabha Atomic Research Centre on Saturday to understand the nuclear power programme as well as the progress in nuclear medicines.