Fishermen organize ‘boat morcha’ to protest against Shivaji memorial site
Photo Courtesy: The Hindu
Local Press Co 5-point Snippet
1. On Wednesday, over 500 fishermen took the sea route to protest against the site selected for the memorial of Maratha warrior Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj in the Arabian sea, off the Mumbai coast.
2. The ‘sea rally’ organised by Paramparik Machhimar Seva Samiti (PMSS) along with the Machhimar Sarvoday Society, started from Badhwar Park in South Mumbai and passed by Nariman point before ending at the location of the memorial. The fisher folk sailed out in over 150 boats sporting black flags.
3. The community is of the opinion that the sea belonged to the fishermen and the state government has not even considered taking their approval. They demanded that the Fadnavis-led government should re-consider the memorial site in view of probable damage to marine wealth.
4. Despite several attempts to resolve the issue, from meeting the top officials to speaking to the government individually, fishermen failed to get any satisfactory response. The fishermen clarified that they were not against the construction of the memorial but the location selected for it, which according to them will ‘jeopardise’ the livelihood of 3,000 fishermen.
5. The protesters also said that the community members, who will be impacted by the construction of the memorial, should be rehabilitated before starting the work.
