Anger against Coastal Road, Wadhwan Port may push Koli fishers into the arms of MVA

MUMBAI: The 63 Koli gaothans and 31 Koliwadas of Mumbai narrate a saga of unfulfilled promises. The ethnic Koli community of fishermen says that no political party has granted them any substantial benefit, with most using them as a vote bank. Their pleas against the alignment of the Coastal Road and Wadhwan Port have fallen on deaf ears.

Senior community leader Vijay Worlikar from Worli Koliwada said, "The apathy is worsening with time. At least during the construction of the Bandra-Worli Sealink, the govt gave us a representation by nominating me as a Koli to the committee. After we objected to the alignment of certain pillars which thwarted our boats, they modified the plans to accommodate our livelihood concerns. But during the Coastal Road, they have not consulted us or taken any Koli on board. Not me, they could have nominated anyone."

Historically allies of Bal Thackeray's Shiv Sena, this time the Kolis' vote will be divided between the two Shiv Senas of UBT and Eknath Shinde. Driven by Hindutva ideology, a few are inclined to vote for BJP even though the Central govt has revoked their diesel subsidy.

Versova Koliwada occupies the largest spread of the population. Most youngsters have taken jobs and given up fishing. Harie Gomoji, 42, who runs an NGO, said, "Our demands are taken for granted by state governments, no matter who is ruling, and the Central govt as well.

They took away our subsidy on diesel, and all development projects are being made in Koliwadas without taking our business survival into consideration. Perhaps our fishing business is tax-free only because the govt doesn't want to lose our votes."

"We have requested the govt to restore the diesel subsidy in vain. We have requested it to declare the Koli community as SC/ST but can't see change. This is causing frustration in our people. In future, we may see Kolis participate as candidates."

Over in Cuffe Parade, Devendra Tandel, President of the Akhil Maharashtra Machhimar Kruti Samiti, said, "Our youth are now well-educated and understand ground-level issues. So we expect they will vote against Mahayuti due to BJP’s persistence on the construction of Wadhwan Port, framing policies that will bring Koliwadas under cluster development and razing Crawford Fish Market and Tardeo Fish Market.

As no concrete promises are given by Mahayuti in its manifesto, most votes will go in favour of Maha Vikas Aghadi."

He says the fishing community of Maharashtra is categorised into Arabian Sea (saltwater) deep sea and inland fisheries (sweet water) in lakes, dams, and ponds.

These fishers are further classified by religion. "Hindus dominate Palghar, Thane, Mumbai, Raigad, and Sindhudurg while Catholics live in Uttan, Vasai, and Arnala. Muslims dominate Ratnagiri. Voting results vary depending on local ideologies, so historically, the fishing community has never voted with a singular mindset of issue-based voting."

Tandel says that fishers have traditionally been with Balasaheb Thackeray's Shiv Sena or Congress. "However, changes in the political landscape and an ideological shift of Sena UBT have altered the thought process of Hindus in favour of BJP. The BJP Lok Sabha candidate of Palghar won handsomely, though there is strong opposition to Wadhwan Port, which will destroy the fishing industry of Palghar, Thane, and Mumbai."

"In Mumbai, there are 63 Koli gaothans and 31 Koliwadas. They have leaned towards Balasaheb Thackeray. However, during Uddhavji’s tenure as CM, issues like Crawford Fish Market and Coastal Road were handled insensitively. This angered the community, which then moved towards BJP and Shinde Sena," said Tandel.