Occupation of Majhi community in crisis

By Our Correspondent,Bhairahawa, Dec.14: The occupation of the Majhi community in Rupandehi district is in crisis. That’s because people of the community, who have been sustaining their livelihood by fishing in various rivers of the district, are finding it hard to catch fish in recent days. 

The community complained that it is becoming harder and harder to get fish in rivers like Danav, Tinau, Danda, Kanchan Rohini. That has endangered their occupation. 

Ram Prakash Mallaha, a resident of Mayadevi, in the district, said that he had been making his living by fishing for a decade already, but now it is difficult to get fish in the local rivers.

"After we stopped getting fish in the fishing reservoir, we are having to do wage labour to earn our household expenses," he said.

Sugrim Mallaha of the same place recalled that in the past he used to throw nets in rivers and catch plenty of fishes, but nowadays it is difficult to find even two or four. 

Experts said that aquatic animals are in crisis due to increasing encroachment and pollution caused by human activities and the effects of climate change.

According to former executive director of Nepal Agriculture Research Council (NARC) and fish expert Dr. Tek Bahadur Gurung, climate change has affected the reproduction of fish.

He said that the drying up of wetlands, chemicals and pesticides used in agriculture, industrial waste, and dumping sites near the river are also very harmful for fish.

Dr. Pravez Alam, Acting Director of Directorate of Livestock and Fisheries Development, said that local species of fish are disappearing in natural reservoirs due to various human activities and climate change.

"In order to protect and promote fish, we are conducting a campaign to improve the natural reservoirs by releasing advanced and local breeds of fish," he said.

Although Nepal is moving towards self-sufficiency in terms of fish production, fish is supplied from Lumbini Province to other provinces.

According to experts, the productivity of fish has started to decrease because of rising temperature, which has adversely affected their reproduction and prompted them to migrate. 

The fish super zone programme has been implemented in Rupandehi for the past seven years. Local fishes are disappearing due to the development of fishing practices, use of poisons, explosives and electric methods.

Locals demanded that such activities be banned. 

"We have monitored such activities. We have also conducted various awareness programmes to prevent it," said Narayan Kafle, chief of the Prime Minister Agriculture Modernisation Project, Project Implementation Unit, Bhairahawa.

After the implementation of the programme, the area of fish rearing has been expanded to more than 400 hectares and currently there is a fish super zone area of more than 1,100 hectares, while fish farming is being done in Rupandehi in an area of about 1,400 hectares.

He said that about 4,500 tonnes of fish are produced annually in the district.