'Our lives under threat from Kolleru mafia'

TNN / Mar 12, 2006, 02:21 IST

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There appears to be a consensus on the need to restore Kolleru Lake among all the parties concerned.

'Our lives under threat from Kolleru mafia'

HYDERABAD: There appears to be a consensus on the need to restore Kolleru Lake among all the parties concerned, though they differed on how to go about it.
At the public hearing, conducted by the Supreme Court-appointed Empowered Committee on Kolleru, concern, however, was expressed over the rehabilitation of local fishermen, who stand to lose their livelihood due to demolition of the tanks.
Environmentalists, fish-breeders, local people and politicians agreed that the proposed restoration of the lake should go ahead to save environment and crops in Krishna and West Godavari districts.
At the outset, committee members M K Jiwrajka, Mahendra Vyas, N K Joshi and Jaya Krishnan cautioned everyone concerned with Kolleru that they could not take the Supreme Court\High Court orders on the lake restoration for granted.

Eluru MP K Sambasiva Rao, former ministers K Vidyadher Rao, Vadde Sobhanadreeswara Rao, CPM floor leader Nomula Narasimhaiah and AP Fish Farmers' Association president Kamineni Srinivas presented their views to the empowered committee.
West Godavari district collector Luv Agarwal and Krishna collector Navin Mittal told the panel that the administrations of Krishna and West Godavari districts were working under "extremely trying conditions" while carrying out the Operation Kolleru Clean-Up.

"Our lives are under threat. I received many threats. The big sharks involved in the Kolleru fish business have been using women and children as a shield to take on the administration and prevent the operation," Luv said.
The collector's revelation was backed by local community leaders. Sobhanadreeswara Rao, while pleading for destruction of fish tanks up to the fifth contour, however, suggested that fish culture in other forms like cage culture and pen culture be encouraged between the fifth and seventh contours.
Encroachment of Kolleru had been leading to submergence of paddy and other crops in Krishna and West Godavari causing Rs 200 crore loss to the farmers, he pointed out.
The Kolleru Lake Restoration Committee leader Y Nagendranath and the Nallamala Foundation representative Waghray sought resumption of Operation Kolleru Clean-Up that was put on hold based on a petition filed by a local industrialist.
The standing counsel for the Union ministry for environment and forests A D N Rao too appealed for destruction of fish tanks. The panel gave time till Monday for the parties to file affidavits on the issue.

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