Sanctuary for plunderers, not for animals
Loggers' and fishermen’s depredations destroying
Sundarbans
By
dr.fourkan Ali
The
sanctuaries in the Sundarbans, which has been declared a World Heritage Site,
have become sanctuaries for plunderers instead of sanctuaries for wild animals.
Felling of trees is going on unhindered though the entire Sundarbans has been
declared a reserve forest. Even the sanctuaries are not free from depredation.
Fishing in the rivers and canals of the Sundarbans and within the 5-mile limit
from the seashore has been prohibited but the fishermen are fishing freely, without
any hindrance by the legal authority A cargo boat was detained on November 11, 2000 on Alibanda canal in Sarankhola range while it was
smuggling out Sundari wood worth Tk. 5 lakhs. Experts on the Sundarbans have
blamed avaricious smugglers of timber and forest dacoits and their criminal
collaboration with a section of forest officials. The forest officials,
however, bemoaned their limited manpower and unsophisticated weapons. They also
said that they do not have modem vessels to patrol the forest areas, Even the sanctioned
amount of fuel for the vessels has been reduced, they complained.
It
was decided at a Cabinet meeting in May 2000 that no tree can be cut in the reserve
forests up to the year 2005 in order to preserve bio-diversity. Before that the
Cabinet decided in 1990 that no trees could be felled till August 12, 2000, The period of this ban has been further extended by
five years.
Similar
flouting of the law was noticed on a recent inspection of the Sundarbans,
especially in the Kalka sanctuary. After we proceeded by boat along Jamtala
tower canal in Kalka and entered a narrow canal we saw a huge boat standing
still, blocking the entire canal. Nearby, on the canal bank, a shed had been
built with felled trees of the forest and roofed with Chhan (a species of reeds
that grows on river banks). When we neared the shed we found 14/15 persons of
different age groups busy with their morning chores. Smoke was spiraling up
from the stove; cooking was being done by burning wood from the sanctuary. We
talked to Haroon (20). He hails from Sarankhola. They were there for the last
one month and would stay there for 15 day more. They would cut chhan and take
the boatload to Bagerhat and sell it there. About 20 gewa trees would be cut
and placed cross-wise on the boat and then covered with chhan before their
departure. A few steps away we talked to laborer jasim (25) who was busy
cutting chhan. He informed us that they have been dependent on the Sundarbans
for several generations. Previously they used to fell trees, but now they cut
chhan. Their mahajan (employer) would get Tic 20,000 per boatload of chhan.
However the wage of the laborers was only Tk. 60 per day.
Though
fishing is banned in the rivers and canals of the Sundarbans and up to 5 miles
from the seashore, the fishermen were fishing there freely. They usually
procure a permit to fish outside the banned areas and then fish both inside and
outside such areas. Previously fishing was being carried out under the
patronage of big businessmen. They were told to leave the area by the forest
department after the three sanctuaries were declared to be part of the world
heritage in 1997. A fish trader named Rambabu is staying at Katka and
conducting his fishing business. About 40 to 50 fishermen under him are fishing
without hindrance within the Kafka sanctuary and its surrounding areas. He is
well known to the officials and employees of the forest department.
On
paper it is recorded that about 400 species of fish are found in the rivers,
canals and creeks in the Sundarbans and the nearby sea. But the existence of
many kinds of fish is threatened. About 80 per cent of the shrimp fry is
collected from the rivers of the Sundarbans and die adjacent sea. It is known
that two
to two and a half lakh
fishermen go to die Sundarbans every year to fish. They use various types of
nets, including the 'Behundi net’, the ‘Ilisha net’ and 'current net', and catch
fish and shrimps and prawns. Experts think that in the process the fry of 235
other species are killed. In the meantime two kinds of fish- bundi beley and
auspati- have become extinct.
These
fishermen have played a very destructive role in the forest. During the
spawning season about 30 boats go to catch bagda (prawn) fries every week,
according to 'Rupantar‘, the Sundarbans study group. On an average 10,000
fishermen catch fish in the Sundarbans area. They catch at least 10 metric tons
of fish everyday. At the same time they destroy the fry and discard the bodies
of 100 tons more of fish that are not considered to be edible. They return home
after a week or two. Every time they enter the forest they cut trees and golpata
to make boat roofs (Chhai). They also make anchors with timber. Moreover; the fishermen
cook thrice daily, burning about 50 tons of dry wood. While walking along Katka
sea beach we found two fishing boats lying close to the bank One boat fled
before we could approach it. The other was also preparing to flee but we hailed
the people on the boat. "We are tourists, we have come to visit the Sundarbans.
We want to talk to you," we told them. There were four persons squatting
on the boat. They were Jalil, Jehangir, Fakir and Mostofa. They hail from the
village Padmashumi of Patharghata thana in Borguna district. We were told that the place in
which we were standing was Badamtala Later the forest officials informed us that
the place is named Bhulurdia.
Among
the fishermen Mostafa (36) replied to most of the questions. He informed us
that they pay the forest department personnel Tk. 83 per head for permits to
catch fish.
Previously
they could fish unhindered in areas near Katka Kachikhali but after the Awami
league came to power the forest department had asked them not to fish in the
area because the sanctuary had been declared a part of the world heritage. But
they informed us that they are continuing to catch fish.
The
deputy ranger; K. M. Shahidullah of the Supati station, said that the forest
guards have only 6 firearms with them and the manpower is also inadequate.
Earlier 1,200 liters of fuel were sanctioned per month to patrol the area in
spite of the fact that the actual requirement was 2,000 liters. But now they
get only 100 liters per month. This has resulted in reduction of patrol duty.
A
large portion of the Badamtala Bhulurdia coastal forest looked as if it had
been devastated by a cyclone. Fishermen Jehangir (25) and Jalil (40) informed
us that actually it was not due to a cyclone-the trees were uprooted by the
tidal surge and wave action of the sea between Chaitra and Ashwin (roughly
March-September). It was found that trees had fallen either due to shifting of
the soil around the roots or because their trunks had been broken a few inches
up from the roots.
Dr.Fourkan Ali
Mob: 01711579267
Email- dr.fourkanali@gmail.com
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