Kolkata, July 19 (IANS) West Bengal Forest Department has ordered an immediate crackdown against brackish water fisheries (traditional aquaculture farms), set up illegally in the Sundarbans area scattered over South 24 Parganas and North 24 Parganas during the previous Trinamool Congress regime by destroying portions of the mangrove plantations in the region.
The new state forest minister, Manoj Oraon, has personally directed his department officials to start the process of identifying such illegal brackish water fisheries, close them down with the help of police and replant mangroves in areas illegally occupied to set up such farms.
As per initial estimates of the state forest department, such illegal fisheries are scattered over around 1,600 acres, the majority of which are in that part of the Sundarbans area that comes under South 24 Parganas district.
According to Oraon, a target has been set to complete the step-by-step process of identifying such brackish water fisheries, closing them down and subsequently replanting mangroves in those areas by November this year.
“Such illegal brackish water fisheries are scattered over around 1,600 acres. The state forest department will work closely with the district administration in the process of bringing these areas back to their original form, filled with mangrove plantations. At the same time, henceforth, the state forest department and the district administrative authorities concerned will be maintaining close monitoring in the entire region so that there will not be a recurrence of setting up brackish water fisheries or any construction destroying the mangrove plantation,” the state forest minister said.
Meanwhile, environmentalists have hailed the decision. According to them, the mangroves in the Sundarbans are traditional shields to protect the entire coastal zone from the impact of natural calamities, like cyclones and super-cyclones. Hence, protection of these plantations should be the priority of the state administration to prevent the area from larger calamities.
Since the new Bharatiya Janata Party-led state government under the leadership of Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari has taken charge in the state, there have been crackdowns against the illegal constructions eyeing tourist attractions in the Sundarbans region.
Earlier this month, a café owned by Imran Molla, son of former Trinamool Congress MLA Saokat Molla, which was built illegally on the banks of Matla River in South 24 Parganas district near Sundarbans, was completely demolished.
The cafe named ‘Aranyer Kule’ was located on the banks of the Matla River in the Moukhali area under Jibantala police station in South 24 Parganas.
–IANS
src/dpb