Rajesh Kumar Behera, OP
Kendrapara: The fishing ban at Gahirmatha Marine Sanctuary (GMS) aiming to protect endangered Olive Ridley sea turtles spelled doom for a family in Kharanashi village under Mahakalapada block.
The family members of Gouranga Saha, a former sarpanch of Kharanashi panchayat, has been struggling to eke out a living. Gouranga Saha and his eldest son committed suicide by taking poison after they failed to repay debts incurred due to a six-month fishing ban during turtle nesting season at GMS.
The widow of Gouranga Saha and his youngest daughter work as migrant labourers in a Tamilnadu-based garments company while his eldest daughter works as a peon in a school set up by her father.
About two decades back, Gouranga Saha, a traditional marine fisherman, was a well to do man of Kharanashi village owing four mechanised fishing vessels. He contested for the sarpanch post in 1997 and won it. He set up a high school with his own money and borrowing money from local moneylenders.
Everything went smooth for Gouranga’s family until the forest department declared Gahirmatha as a marine sanctuary. Once Gahirmatha was declared a marine sanctuary in 1997 and the forest department began imposing a six-month fishing ban every year to protect endangered Olive Ridley turtles, the financial condition of Gouranga deteriorated.
All his boats were seized by the forest department 15 years back. He failed to release his boats nor could repay Rs 6 lakh loans that he had borrowed from a Paradip-based private company and from locals. Later, the size of the loan went on increasing. Frustrated he lost his mental balance and committed suicide in 2004 at the school veranda. Three years later, his eldest son Deepak Saha (20), who had taken over the burden of his family, committed suicide as he failed to run the family, said Tapan mandal, a relative of Gouranga Saha.
Later, Arati Saha, the widow mother and two grown-up daughters ran the family with difficulties by rolling bidi and stitching torn clothes. But, these odd jobs could not ensure two square meals for the family. Arati and her younger daughter, Bulu, left for Tamil Nadu to work as a migrant labour eight years back. With the help of locals, 35-year old Nilima Saha, her eldest daughter, got a peon’s job in Kharanashi High School.
“When my father was alive and the sanctuary was free for fishing, my father bought us clothes from Kolkota and everyday he brought meals and food stuff from Paradip. My father purchased gold ornaments from Kerala. We were enjoying a luxurious life. But fate played a cruel joke on us. Since Gahirmatha was declared a marine sanctuary and the forest department imposed a fishing ban between November 1 and May 31 to protect Olive Ridley turtles, like took a reverse turn. Our boats were seized and my debt-ridden father committed suicide. Meanwhile, circumstances forced me to work as a peon in a school that had been set up by my father,” said Nilima.
Gouranga’s was not a lone case in Kharanashi village. Bidyadhar Ram of the same village committed suicide in 2004 as he failed to feed his family due to loss of livelihood after Gahrimatha was declared a marine sanctuary.
Rasamaya Mandal and Jodan Biswas of Ramnagar village, both fishermen, committed suicide as fishing ban badly affected their livelihood. The trauma of losing permanent livelihood and the increasing debt burden killed many fishermen of the village, said Tusar Sardar, secretary of Orissa Traditional Fish Workers’ Union and the secretary of Ramchandi Boat Owner’s Association, Kharnashi.
Meanwhile, the lot of the fishermen has improved now as the state government provides rations to them and the World Bank-funded Integrated Coastal Zone Management Programme (ICZMP) compensates fishermen for the loss of livelihood, Manoranjan Mohapatra, assistant fishery officer (marine) of Mahakalapada block, said. PNN