At first light, Pujan Bhende, 30, sets out from Versova for the Arabian Sea in his blue fishing boat and spends at least nine hours at the edge of vast, tangled clusters of green-brown mangroves, casting his net, checking the trapped fish and crabs as the water recedes, and repeating the process.
Fishing near mangroves is the only source of livelihood for about 400 fisherfolk residing at Versova, Charkop, Dahisar, Malvani, and Gorai in Mumbai.
However, ongoing work to cut 45,675 mangroves across 103.6 hectares of forest land for the 23-km-long Versova-Bhayandar Coastal Road project has left them worried. “When these mangroves are gone, I will probably end up working as a labourer,” says Mr. Bhende.
Krishnahari Sathe, 70, and his wife earn a living by selling fish that they buy from small fishermen. “Mangroves are breeding grounds for fish. We are practically living on them.”
Dipti Bhandari, 45, a fisherwoman from Charkop, 17 km from Versova, where the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) has begun work on the coastal road, says, “We raised objections, but no BMC official mentioned compensation or attempts to resolve our concerns about loss of livelihood.”
