Avian flu hits livelihood of 2K fishermen, poultry farmers

BQ: Winter is the peak earning season for us. The demand for fish is more in this season and we get high price of our catch. However, now that fishing has been banned on the Pong Dam lake, it seems that our livelihood will be hit for the current year. — Rakesh Kumar, a fisherman from Dehra area

Lalit Mohan

Tribune News Service

Dharamsala, January 5

Avian flu that has killed about 1,900 birds in the Pong Dam lake in Kangra district has also hit the livelihood of about 2,000 fisherman and poultry farmers of the region. After it was confirmed yesterday that it was avian flu H5N1 virus that was killing migratory birds, the district administration has banned all activities in 1-km periphery of the lake.

The fishermen were asked to remove their nets from the lake area and all meat shops in four subdivisions of the district, Dehra, Fatehpur, Indora and Jawali, were closed down till further orders.

Rakesh Kumar, a fisherman from the Dehra area, said, “Winter is the peak earning season for us. The demand for fish is more in this season and we get high price of our catch. However, now that fishing has been banned on the Pong Dam lake, it seems that our livelihood will be hit for the current year.”

Sources here said there were about five fishing societies in the Pong Dam lake area each having over 300 members. Locals, who were members of fishing societies, catch fish from the Pong Dam lake and sell it in fishing societies from where traders from Punjab buy. Many families who lost their lands to the construction of the lake were now engaged in catching fish. Now due to avian flu threat, which was likely to last for a few months, the fishermen of the Pong Dam lake would lose their livelihood.

Similar is the plight of poultry farmers. Naresh Sharma, a poultry farmer from the Nagrota area, said the demand for poultry products had come to a naught since the avian flu news spread in the region. “It costs me about Rs 2 per day to feed each chick I have in my poultry. In case the demand for poultry products is not rekindled in the next fortnight, my poultry that has about 10,000 birds, will become unviable,” he said.

Ajay Mahajan, district president of Congress, while talking to The Tribune, said the government should financially compensate fishermen and poultry farmers of the Pong Dam lake area as they had lost their livelihood due to avian flu threat.

He said people had already suffered financial losses due to the lockdown. Now this avian flu would finish off small poultry farmers and fishermen in case the government does not compensate them.

Rakesh Prajapati, Deputy Commissioner, Kangra, said measures for banning the sale of meat and other activities in the Pong Dam lake area had been taken to prevent the spread of avian flu virus in humans. The measures would continue till the threat dissipates.

When asked about the financial loss being faced by fishermen and poultry farmers, he said their grievance would be conveyed to the state government that would take a decision over the matter.