The Lost Paradise


THREATS

              PLEASE ALLOW THE BROWSER TO BUFFER FOR FEW SECONDS(OR MINUTES)

As an original tribe of India prefeering to live in open agricultural landscape and coastal region as clansman the kolis are not homogenous group presently there are over 1040 subgroups.Somehow even when they are nearly about more than 15% of huge Indian population they are marginalised community because of their beliefs of continuing with their old ways of living. This is not the only reason why koli's lives are in threat now-a-days there are various threats to these people.

The koli's were displaced from Dongri (their ancestral land, currently a koliwada) in 1770 by the East India Company firstly their importance was understood by the company during this time the britishers treated the kolis badly and did not wanted to preserve their lifestyle. This historical process of elimination eventually pushed them to the strand near Cuffe Parade, from where they plied their ancient trade of deep water fishing.They protested to reclamation on their land and finally under the provision of the scheduled caste and scheduled tribe(prevention of attrocities act) 1989.

THREATS OF KOLIS.

1.THEIR MARGINALISATION;

Now kolis are a marginalised community at the bottom of heirarchy, this community is marginalised because of several factors including social, cultural, economical and political ones.they are trying to confront it using religious solace,economical uplift,arm struggle and also by invoking fundamental right.This is one of the primitive reasons why kolis are considered to have low social status
and thus they also are denied access to most of the rights guaranteed to them by the government.they are not provided with equal chance to develope their their skills.

2.EXPANSION OF CONSTRUCTIONAL ACTIVITIES.

Expansion of constructional activities is another threat to their livelihoods as they are displaced from their meagre resources.Various industries are now been constructed and so they use to dispose the waste without treating them into the water reserviours. Reserviours are contaminated and aquatic organisms are affectd with it and so are the kolis as they depend on these aquatics.

INTERVIEW OF A NAKHWA(LEADER OF KOLI FISHERMEN)

Q1. SINCE WHEN YOU ARE FISHING?
ANS.THIS IS A HERIDATORY PROFESSION, AND I AM DOING IT SINCE MY CHILDHOOD.

Q2.TILL WHISH STANDARARD YOU HAVE STUDIED?
ANS.TILL 9TH STANDARD.

Q3.AFTER THEN WHY DID YOU LEFT YOUR STUDIES WITHOUT COMPLETING YOUR GRADUATION?
ANS.I DID NOT WANT TO LEAVE MY STUDIES BUT I WAS FORCED DUE TO FINANCIAL PROBLEMS.

Q4.TELL US SOMETHING ABOUT THE NETS & HOW YOU USE IT.
ANS.THESE NETS ARE HANGED WITH THE HELP OF BAMBOOS AND WE PLACE SOME EDIBLES IN IT AND THE FISHES AUTOMATICALLY GET TRAPPED INTO IT.

Q5.DO YOU GET INCENTIVES FROM GOVERNMENTS?
ANS.ONLY IF DUE TO SOME NATURAL CATASTROPHE THE BOATS ARE DAMAGED AT THAT TIME IT IS THE GOVERNMENT WHICH COMPENSATES FOR IT.

Q6.WHAT IS YOUR MONTHLY INCOME?
ANS.IT DEPENDS ON VARIOUS CIRCUMSTANCES SPECIALLY THE DIRECTION OF WINDS.

Q7.IS THERE ANY THREAT TO YOUR MEAGRE RESOURCES?
ANS.NOW-A -DAYS VARIOUS INDUSTRIES ARE WRONGFULLY OCCUPYING OF LANDS AND POLLUTING THE ENVIRONMENT BY DIRECTLY DISPOSING THE WASTE WITHOUT TREATMENT.

Q8.DONT YOU PROTESTED?
ANS.YES, WE PROTESTED AGAINST IT BUT THE GOVERNMENT DID NOT TOOK ANY ACTION.WE ARE NOT ABLE TO CONVEY THIS TO HIGHER AUTHORITY.

Q9.THERE IS A FACTORY BEHIND YOU DOES THAT LAND ALSO BELONGED TO YOU?
ANS.YES, ITS TRUE THE COMPANY OFFICIALS CAME WITH AN AGREEMENT IT LOOKED APPEALING AND BENEFITIAL BUT SOME HOW THAT WAS NOT SO WE ARE NOW FEELING THE DISADVANTAGE.

3.POLLUTION

The third major concern for kolis is pollution as the industries are setting themselves in country sides and are polluting them.As these are the areas where the government agents are not so well functioning and thus laws to protect environment from being treated as a free entity. So in order to cut their costs the industries are polluting the environment these villagers could no more withstand this tyranny and are moving to better, cleaner and safer place.so, they are displaced from their anccestorial land and cannot perform their traditions, customs and beliefs.

4.FORCED TO PRACTISE GHETTO

As the kolis are increasingly marginalised there are various sterotypes taking birth about these people as they are usually practise fishing and live close to sea they are somehow practising ghetto (that is an area densely populated by people of same community). So they are said to be alienated because they very rarely moves out of that particular area. And however because of it they are also not aware of the codes of behaviour of the society.They are also considered of having low social status.They also practice ghetto because they think that the society neither cares of them nor their requirements and so they feel safe safer amongst their own people.

MUMBAI: The city's Koliwada enclaves, the traditional fishing villages, are on their way to getting additional construction rights. On Tuesday, the BMC improvements committee doubled the floor space index (FSI) for them from 1 to 2.

However, a vertical limit has been set—buildings have been restricted to a height of 10 metres or a maximum of ground-plus-three storeys. The proposal will now be placed before the BMC's general body for approval, after which it will be sent to the state government. "Since the directive to increase the FSI has come from the state government, it will certainly approve it," said a civic official.

Meanwhile, there are fears that although the FSI is meant to help Kolis expand their homes, builders will be the main beneficiaries. Civic sources pointed out that there was no deterrent to selling tenancy rights. "In the absence of such a deterrent, there is every possibility of moneyed people purchasing several homes to build a bungalow on the seaside or builders grabbing land for profit."

A construction sight near Mahul village.It was previously a Koli village.

Industries are the main source of water pollution. You can see a chemical factory behind the dying mangrooves.