Fishing communities across Sindh celebrated the World Fisheries Day with calls to release more water downstream Kotri Barrage and to get Pakistani released from Indian jails.
“We demand the immediate release of our brothers detained in Indian jails. We demand fresh water release in the Indus River to save the mangroves, culture and fisheries. We demand the government to declare fishermen as labourers,” said Pakistan Fisherfolk Forum’s vice chairperson Yasmeen Shah.
Addressing a charged gathering near Chutria reservoir in Sanghar, hundreds of fishermen gathered and demanded the government to address their issues, including an end to the encroachment on the fresh water bodies.
“It’s not just men who suffer because of the climate change and the man-made disasters but the women and children as well,” said Yasmeen Shah. “Try to understand the pain we women feel when our men struggle to support their families,” she added, saying several fishermen have illegally been detained by Indian forces.
PFF’s Chairman Mehran Shah said that: “the illegal construction of the canals will further disturb the fishermen community in Sindh.” He said that hundreds of thousands people living on the coast have been facing hardships due to shortage of the water in the Indus River. “Does the government want us to die?” he questioned in a charged gathering.
Ramzan Mallah, the general secretary of the PFF, said that: “on this international day, we appeal the world to look at the consequences and impact of the climate change on the lives of fishing communities. We are dying slowly.”
In Karachi, another faction of Pakistan Fisherfolk Forum (PFF) on Thursday celebrated World Fisheries Day with a renewed commitment to continue the struggle for the protection of fishermen’s rights.
Hundreds of fishermen and women as well as civil society workers coming from Thatta, Sujawal, Badin, Jamshoro, Hyderabad and other districts joined the celebration at Motani Jetty, Ibrahim Hyderi.
The celebration featured a colourful cultural programme, which included songs and tableaus, presented by youth, highlighting issues of the fishing people.