Pakistan Province auctioned 1260 water ways

international | rights, freedoms and repression | news report Tuesday August 08, 2006 16:11 by Qasim Rajpar - Daily Awami awaz

deprive more than 0.1 million fishermen of their historic rights.

Karachi: Government of Pakistan Province sindh fisheries department auctioned 1260 public water ways of sindh including five major sources to deprive more than 0.1 million fishermen of their historic rights. Government privitize all water ways.

Pakistan
Government of Sindh imposes contract system on 1260 water areas.
Qasim Rajpar

Karachi: Government of sindh fisheries department has auctioned 1260 public water ways of sindh including five major sources to deprive more than 0.1 million fishermen of their historic rights.

Secretary fisheries Government of sindh Dr. Baz Muhammad junijo told that an ordinance was enforced in 1960 to auction public water areas. Later in 1977 Prime Minister Zulifqar Ali Bhutto on the demand of fishermen’s introduced licence system in province for experimental basis on all major lacks kenjhar, manchhar, baqar, Sindhi dhoro, and river Indus downstream kotri, for the improvement of lives of fisher folk.

He further said that in 1994 fishermen stopped seeking licence. 1996 Government of sindh introduced mole system but this system was also not successes.

Advisor to chief minister sindh jadim mangrio said that we have decide that from the June 2006 we will auction 1260 water areas, including five major areas kenjhar, manchhar, zero point, baqar lacks and river Indus down stream kotri. He said we will get $ 506666 from these auctions.

The decision of government was widely condemned by political parties, human rights bodies and the associations of fisher folk and other trade unions.

Syed Muhammad Ali shah chairman of Pakistan fisher folk vowed to resist any decision of government of sindh against the interest of fisher folk.

The PFF leader said that the movement against the contract system had already been launched, and big rallies would be taken by fishermen on 25 may 2006. We will protest in the front of Provincial assembly sindh also, he said.

President of Pakistan people’s party sindh Syed Qaim Ali shah said that naturally fishermen’s had right over water areas in province, there is historical water shortage in sindh, when there is no water down stream kotri how government of sindh announce the contract system on the water areas of sindh.

Senator ® Iqbal hyder secretary general human rights commission of Pakistan (HRCP) said the decision of
Government is against the fundamental rights of fishermen. He said that HRCP will protest against this decision with fishermen.

Tahira Ali women leader of PFF said that thousands of fishermen had been rendered jobless due to the contract system while on the other all the water ponds and lakes had been rendered dry due to an acute shortage of water in the Indus River

The contract system has been a major cause of concern for the fishermen in Sindh. These fishermen earn their livelihood from 1260 fishing grounds including coastal waters, inland lakes, ponds, depressions and Indus River. Known as mallahs and mirbahars, their centuries' old profession has now become their identity.
Up until 28 years ago, fishermen had been fishing here free. But back in 1977, the Sindh government introduced a 'licence system' on major water areas of the province with the objective of regulating fishing activities and registering indigenous fishermen in the province. Licenses were issued against payment of a fee that varied between $17 and $25 per fisherman. In many cases, licence system generated revenues more than the auction system, despite the existence of fake licenses and embezzlement of funds.
To give you an idea, inland fishing waters of Sindh produced 1, 13,919 metric tones fish catch in the year 2005. The licence system was so successful that even after the contract system was introduced on some fishing grounds during the last decade, the government had to reinforce the licence system on four major fishing grounds. In certain cases fishermen were even exempted from paying the licence fee.
While the licensing system worked smoothly, the Sindh government introduced the contract/auction system of fishing in the 90s. A major complaint against this system has been that it 'exploits the fishing community.' Besides, it is being widely assumed that bureaucrats prefer the contract/auction system over the licence system because they receive substantial commissions on it from contractors.
The contractors allowed fishing only on the condition that fishermen would hand over 75 per cent of the fish catch to them. Besides, the fishermen would have to sell the remaining 25 per cent of the catch to the contractors at 50 per cent lower than the market price. These conditions compelled fishermen to borrow from contractors and virtually serve them as if they were their slaves. ENDS