Team Herald

VASCO: Tension prevailed at Hollant area in Issorcim village on Monday morning after some traditional fishermen received a shock when they noticed that some miscreant/s had damaged their fishing nets. Some nets  were even burnt by the culprit/s. The incident triggered protests by the local fishermen community as well as by the members of Goenchea Ramponkarancho Ekvott (GRE), and they have demanded strict action against the miscreant/s involved, failing which the GRE has threatened to take law in their hands.  

According to the information, as Hollant beach has a gentle slope towards the sea and is safe place for the fishermen community to anchor their fishing canoes during monsoons, the traditional fishermen community from Velsao, Hollant, Baina and others neighbouring areas mostly use Hollant beach area to anchor their canoes during monsoons when the weather is rough, and this has been going on since last several decades.

Thus as a routine affair, on Sunday, the members of fishermen community anchored their canoes at safe location on the Hollant beach, however when they returned back on Monday morning so as to start their fishing operations, they were shocked to note that a fishing net kept over the canoe was burnt, while some other fishing nets were pulled out of canoes and were thrown into the sea due to which these nets got damaged. The news of fishing nets damaged by miscreants spread like wildfire and within few minutes over 50 odd fishermen from Hollant and other members of GRE gathered at the site and started demanding action against the culprit/s who according to them has been identified. In order to intensify their protest, over 100 traditional fishermen from Mormugao taluka also decided not to venture into sea.

Speaking to reporters, some of the local fishermen claimed that on Sunday night a bar operator whose unit is close by had an altercation with some fishermen over anchoring their canoes near his bar. They, therefore, alleged that the same person must have damaged their fishing nets due to which they have faced loss of over Rs 2 lakh.

GRE president Agnelo Rodrigues, informed that the GRE would take up the issue very strongly as such act of destroying fishing nets, would not be tolerated. He said “while condemning the act of destroying fishing nets, we also demand immediate action by the police, fisheries department and other agencies as we have full doubt that the local bar operator have damaged our fishing nets and he cannot go scot free. We also demand that the concerned authorities should book the culprit and should recover the money from him for deliberately damaging our fishing nets. If this does not happen, we all have decided to take law in our hands and we will not allow the bar operator to run his business unless he pays for the losses suffered by our GRE members” he told.

Meanwhile, GRE members also lodged a formal police complaint before Verna police accusing the bar operator as main accused behind damaging their nets. Police is probing the case.