LDA bulldozes cage-fish farms in Loktak; Fishermen stage protest, hit road with rallies
Source: Hueiyen News Service

Imphal, August 22 2012: Even as fish farmers in and around Loktak Lake are yet to come in term with the loss suffered from burning down of their floating huts by the State government last year, Loktak Development Authority (LDA) has destroyed all the Cage Culture Farms in Manung Pat leaving the fish farmers of Thanga area high and dry.

Protesting against the action of LDA, fish farmers of Thanga area today staged sit-in-protest, organized peace rallies and public meetings at Thanga Chinglak bazaar.

The protest agitations were held under the aegis of Live Stock Rearing cum Fish Farmers' Welfare & Loktak Development Co-operative Ltd and adopted a number of resolutions.

Speaking at the public meeting, Heisnam Gulamjat, President of Live Stock Rearing cum Fish Farmers' Welfare & Loktak Development Co-operative Ltd informed that on August 8, without any prior information and warning to the fish farmers of Thanga, officials of LDA destroyed all the Cage Culture Farms at Manung Pat.

The fish farmers pleaded the officials not to destroy the farms or give at least a week's time for making necessary alternative arrangements like catching the fishes from the farms.

But the LDA officials did not pay attention and went ahead with destroying the Cage Culture farms with the help of security personnel, he lamented.

Gulamjat further informed that the Cage Culture Farms at Thanga Manung Pat are being maintained by fish farmers of four villages of Thanga area under the initiative of Fishery Department.

Following the destruction caused to their Cage Culture Farms, the fish farmers numbering around 8,000 in Thanga area have been left high and dry with no alternative means of livelihood, Gulamjat said, adding that the blunder caused by LDA is indeed unfortunate.

He also went on to say that Loktak Lake has no threat from the Cage Culture Farms.

The biggest threat to Loktak Lake is the hydro-electric project.

In fact, the fish production in the state has been increased on account of these Cage Culture Farms.

N Nilachandra, Secretary of Live Stock Rearing cum Fish Farmers' Welfare & Loktak Development Co-operative Ltd a fish farmer, pointed out that the fishes reared in Cage Culture Farms are not fed with chemical based feeds.

As such, there is high demand of these fishes and fish farmers invested huge amount of money.

But now everything has been lost, he bemoaned.

At the end of the meeting, a number of resolutions were adopted.

Important among them include to press the government for allowing Cage Culture farms in Loktak Lake, to save the families of the fish farmers and to hold LDA responsible for the loss as well as any eventuality in this regard.

The volunteers of Live Stock Rearing cum Fish Farmers' Welfare & Loktak Development Co-operative Ltd also went by boat to take stock of destruction caused from burning down of fishermen's huts and bulldozing of Cage Culture Farms.

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