Dayaram

Name of the villager: Dayaram

Occupation: Fishing

His story

There was a time (5 to 6 years back) when Dayaram used to sell around 25 kg of fish in one day. Now the quantity has been reduced to 2kgs. During the six years the prices of the fish in the market has increased substantially. However still the fishermen is at a huge loss of earning.The income of Dayaram some six years back was approximately Rs 1000 a day. On a average he used to sell 25Kg of fish at Rs 40 per kg. However now his income is reduced to Rs 100 a day. The reason been that he only able to catch and sell approximately around 2Kg of fish. These days he sells 2Kgs of fish at Rs 50 per Kg.

Thus the income of the Dayaram has been reduced by almost Rs 900/- in a day. A conversation with Dayaram also indicated

• From the time the dam has been built(Omkareshwar Dam) there has been a significant impact on the availability of the fish in the region. It was easy to catch 25 Kg of fish in one day some 5 to 6 years back since the water was flowing. However the construction of reservoir has made the water stagnant leading to a reduction of the availability of the fishes

• Now the contactors has been employed the Government of Madhya Pradesh in the region and it is quite possible that the fishermen would have to start working under them. The contractors are at profit and not short of manipulating the situation. They have asked the fishermen to form a committee and approach them. It is quite likely that the fishermen will be hugely under paid.

As submergence of Dharaji nears the question that needs to be raised is
“Was there enough though given to the Rehabilitation and resettlement measures for a fishermen “

The question is not confined to the amount of the compensation that the fishermen would receive. One needs to understand that there is a culture associated with it. Dayaram learnt the art of catching fishes near Tez Dhar(The waterfall at Dharaji) from his father and happily shared the skill to his son. It is unjust and unfair to expect him to learn skills of growing crops or doing manual work. He knows the variety of fishes at the tip of his finger and he told us an interesting thing about the one of unique breed of fish available in the region. Its local name is Sua.

Sua : is a sleek looking fish and has a nose which resembles a pointed needle. The fish was generally caught , kept in a pot and carried over to a well. From there on the fish is thrown in a well. The reason behind doing this is that Sua is known to eat away the insects, and algae present in the water and thus it is an indigenous way of purifying the water.