Cuttack: Taking up a petition over loss of livelihood of genuine fishermen and intervention of non-fishermen in Chilika Lake, the Orissa High Court Monday issued a contempt of court notice to the state revenue secretary in this connection.
A division bench of Justices BK Nayak and DP Choudhury pronounced the order while adjudicating Ambika Primary Fishermen Cooperative Society president Dharmananda Kei’s contempt petition over the issue. This apart, Baghdevi Fishermen Cooperative Society and Yojamaya Primary Fishermen Cooperative Society had also moved the HC seeking protection of fishermen’s livelihood.
The petitioners had stated that the High Court December 21, 2010 had directed eviction of non-fishermen community and removal of illegal prawn gheries set up in Chilika Lake.
The court had also banned prawn farming up to 1km off the lake, said the petitioners, adding the Puri collector had been asked to deploy Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) personnel for the protection of the fishermen community in the region. However, the government has not taken any measures in this regard, the petitioners alleged.
The prawn mafia has occupied regions like Chandraput, Kandakhaijana and Siaragola of Krushnaprasad block and Modiratha area of Berhampur.
The petitioners have been deprived of fishing in the brackish water lake even though they had inked pacts as per government norms, they alleged.
This apart, the state government has also violated the Supreme Court’s order of 1997 when the latter had asked the former to stop illegal prawn farming in the region.
The state government has been dilly-dallying in formulating a dedicated policy for the protection of the livelihood of the fishermen in the region. In the process, the government is losing revenue in crores.
Advocate Sukant Kumar Dalai appeared for the petitioners.
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