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Fish business suffers
as protest continues
KARACHI, March 11: There has been no normal
fishing activity at the Karachi Fish Harbour as the protest
against the shooting death of a fisherman in Mekran entered
the second week.
Sources say the protesting fishermen have blocked the channel
in the harbour creating obstacles to a free movement of boats
for the past 10 days. After the tragic incident, the
Karachi-based fishermen had announced that they would not
allow the incoming Balochistan-based fishing vessels to
dispose of their catch at Karachi.
An official of the Fishermen Co-operative Society has
confirmed that there has been no normal fishing activity at
the Karachi Fish Harbour for the past 10 days as the harbour
channel was blocked by protesting fishermen. The fishermen
have been demanding that the Balochistan Government arrest the
suspects nominated in the FIR.
The official admits that there has been no official response
from Balochistan despite repeated contacts made by FCS
chairman Syed Tayyab Naqvi. The official says the situation
could not improve unless the Balochistan government initiates
steps against the officials responsible for the shooting.
Although the official refused to divulge the exact loss
suffered by the Society and the Karachi Fisheries Harbour
Authority because of the "standstill", experts guesstimate
that the loss runs into millions as there has been no normal
fishing activity for the past 10 days. The full impact of the
suspension of activity on the market would be clear in a
couple of days.
It is also learnt that hundreds of fishing vessels standing in
the harbour could not move because of the blockage of the
channel by the fishermen. The blockage has rendered hundreds
of fishermen and fisheries workers jobless.
Fisheries sources expressed concern over the silence
maintained by the Balochistan government and took exception to
a statement made by the chairman of Gwadar-based Balochistan
Coastal Development Authority for giving the issue an ethnic
colour and thus aggravating the situation. The Authority had
acknowledge the shootout incident but it blamed the Levies for
it.
Tension gripped the Karachi Fish Harbour last Saturday when
hundreds of fishermen converged at the harbour to mourn the
death of a fisherman and four injured in a shooting in the
seawaters of Mekran. Angry protesters took a round of the
harbour raising slogans against the officials of Balochistan
fisheries.
Later, a meeting condemned the tragic incident and urged the
Balochistan government to arrest the official concerned and
award him exemplary punishment. The meeting threatened to stop
the operation of Balochistan- based trawlers in the coastal
areas of Sindh and to disallow the auction of fish brought
from the province to Karachi Fish Harbour.
They also urged the Sindh government to impose a ban on the
sale of fish catch brought from Balochistan to Karachi. They
also demanded that a ban be imposed on the operation of
deep-sea fishing trawlers.
12 March 2002 Tuesday
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Pakissan.com;
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