Fishermen's stand
Source: The Sangai Express

Imphal, April 29 2015 : The All Loktak Lake Areas Fishermen's Union (ALLAFUM) has strongly condemned the statement of Loktak Hut Dwellers Welfare Association (LHDWA) published in some sections of the media recently.

ALLAFUM in a statement said that many members of the union continue to live in the huts built on phumdis and earn livelihood as professional fishermen.

ALLAFUM members continue to preserve and manage the lake with their traditional indigenous knowledge passed on to them by their ancestors.

The statement said that ALLAFUM and its members would never carry out any activity that may pose threat to Loktak lake.

Loktak is a lake of international importance and it has been well acknowledged in the Ramsar Convention 1971, for which India is also a signatory, the statement said.

Any action that violates the Ramsar Convention's guidelines and indigenous people's rights including arson, illegal eviction, torture, internal displacement, termination of right to profession, right to livelihood, right to education, right to health, right to water etc must be avoided.

On the other hand, LHDWA's demand for livelihood package from the State is highly objectionable as it violates international norms and principals including the points of Ramsar Convention, the statement said.

It questioned what actions LHDWA has taken up to save the lake.

It further questioned whether all the rivers, which flow down to Loktak lake, must be blocked to prevent siltation and pollution.

The statement said that mere disbursement of livelihood package to phum-hut dwellers would not save the lake.

As such, payment of livelihood package to 519 phum-hut dwellers was totally wrong and misleading.

ALLAFUM also demanded the authority concerned to look into illegal arson, eviction and wrongful distribution of livelihood package.

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