Fishermen and the sea

Arindam Sarkar

Fear of being displaced from their homes and certain of being denied of their livelihood from the sea, fishermen of Haripur and Junput in East Midnapore district of West Bengal in India are preparing to launch an agitation against the mega projects lined up by the Centre and the State Government along the Bay of Bengal in July.

The plan to set up a Deep Sea Port at Junput (which is about 500 meters from Haripur); a Freight Corridor from Vishakapatnam in Andhra Pradesh to Haldia via Haripur; a Missile Launching Pad at Junput; and the Haripur Nuclear Power Plant has created a furore among the villagers and the fishermen living in coastal Bengal.

Utterly confused, the representatives of the Dakshin Banga Matsyajibi Forum (a fishermen’s association), Haripur Paromanu Prokolpo Pratirodh Andolan Committee (anti-nuclear plant forum) and Contai Fishermens’ Union met the Contai MP and the Trinamool Congress District President Sishir Adhikari.

Sishir Adhikari told them that in the next four years the Deep Sea Port, which will have a lifespan of 500 years, would be completed on 3,000 acres of land with an investment of Rs 6,000 crore. For the Missile Launching Pad, around 8 acres of land would be acquired. However, the MP assured the delegates that the Trinamool Congress government in Bengal was against Haripur Nuclear Power Plant and it won’t be set up.

“The slew of projects is going to harm the local people living in the coastal belt. Fishermen will be badly affected and the natural resources of the sea would be destroyed in the coastal area. These projects will severely harm the marine environment,” said Secretary of the National Fishermen Workers’ Forum, Pradip Chatterjee.

General secretary of the Dakshin Banga Matsyajibi Forum Debasish Shyamal said if these projects come up then about 15,000 people living in the coastal belt of Haripur and Junput would be displaced. And about 8,600 fishermen who are operating from the Fish Landing Centres of Haripur, Junput, Baguram Jalpai I, Baguram Jalpai II and Soula would be directly affected.

In this coastal belt, fishermen mainly catch Bhola, Ribbon, Bombay Duck, Prawn and variety of small fishes. Marine life will be destroyed and fishermen of this coastal belt will be left jobless.

“Although we are being assured that the Haripur Nuclear Power Plant won’t come up, we are still living in anxiety. If this plant comes up, more than 12,000 people of nine villages will be displaced. Five Fish Landing Centers will be destroyed and marine life will be totally finished,” claimed Debasish Shyamal.

According to President of Haripur Fish Landing Centre Bakul Kumar Bor, a nuclear power plant at Haripur will also seriously affect the other existing 41 Fish Landing Centres in the Contai belt and the three harbours at Digha, Shankarpur and Petuaghat from where the trawlers operate. At present, 2,500 trawlers and 3,000 country-boats fish in this coastal belt.

The fishermen’s unions have demanded that no project should be allowed to come up in this coastal belt that would affect their living and livelihood. Since small and traditional fishermen will face the brunt of developing a modern project, their livelihood should be protected. And finally, under no circumstances a nuclear power plant should be allowed to come up at Haripur – for, its ramifications would be serious on the people living in the coastal belt and the marine life.

“We should not kill our sea resources. Sustainable fishery should be preserved. Projects should not come up at the cost of environment, fishermen, sea and marine life,” said Pradip Chatterjee. In July, fishermen will gather at Contai Town Hall to prepare the road map for their agitation.

Goodbye, Sister Nirmala

Arindam Sarkar

She was always unassuming and low profile in the Order of the Missionaries of Charity headquartered in Kolkata. Ever smiling and compassionate, she was a friend of the poor and the neglected. Her qualities did not go unrecognized.

In 1997, six months before her death, Blessed Mother Teresa gave the world her long-time, introvert companion Sister Nirmala as the superior general of her Catholic order. Sister Nirmala (81) died on the morning of June 23, 2015.

Media-shy Sister Nirmala, after serving as superior general for 12 years, resigned in 2009 and passed the baton to the German nun Sister Mary Prema.

Sister Nirmala’s body was kept at St John’s Church at Sealdah on June 23. On the morning of June 24, her body was brought to the Mother House and kept on the ground floor for public viewing. Later, it was taken to the chapel on the first floor for the funeral mass.

In the evening, the nuns of the Missionaries of Charity, followers and other people of the city walked with the hearse and bid a tearful farewell to Sister Nirmala. She was buried at the St John’s Church Cemetery in Sealdah at 7 pm.

“She died peacefully. She was a great soul,” said Archbishop of Kolkata Father Thomas D’Souza. He said Sister Nirmala was suffering from heart disease and was admitted to the hospital before being brought to the Mother House, where she finally succumbed.

Talking about Sister Nirmala, a long-time associate of Mother Teresa and Missionaries of Charity Sunita Kumar said that she was a quiet, gentle and a tireless nun. It was under her stewardship, after Mother Teresa’s death, that the Missionaries of Charity expanded its homes in different parts of the world.

And during the tenure of Sister Nirmala, as Superior General of the Missionaries of Charity, Vatican beatified Mother Teresa. “She carried forward the legacy of service to the poor and spread the message and activities of the Missionaries of Charity,” said a senior nun. “She kept alive the exemplary life and times of Mother Teresa.”

Soon after Mother Teresa died on September 5, 1997, Pope John Paul II put her Cause for beatification and canonsiation on a fast track. And under Sister Nirmala, Postulator for the Cause of Sainthood of Mother Teresa, Father Brian Kolodiejchuk, who is the Superior General of the MC Fathers in Tijuana, Mexico, submitted his report on Mother’s life to Vatican.

On October 19, 2003, a seven-member delegation led by Sister Nirmala attended the beatification ceremony of Mother Teresa in Vatican and met Pope John Paul II. After returning to Kolkata, she led a mass of the Missionaries of Charity nuns in praise of Mother Teresa and prayed for her sainthood. “Sister Nirmala believed God would canonize Mother soon,” said a senior nun.

Sister Nirmala was born as Nirmala Joshi in Ranchi. She was inspired by life and work of Mother Teresa and joined the Missionaries of Charity in 1976. Mother made her complete her law studies and thereafter, Sister Nirmala dedicated her life to the service of the poor. She was one of the first nuns to be selected by Mother Teresa to work for the Order in foreign countries. Her first destination was Panama.

Sister Nirmala was bestowed with Padma Vibhushan in 2009 for her services to the nation. Prime Minister Narendra Modi offered his condolences over the demise of Sister Nirmala. "Sister Nirmala's life was devoted to service, caring for the poor and underprivileged. Saddened by her demise. May her soul rest in peace. My deepest condolences to the Missionaries of Charity family on the passing away of Sister Nirmala," he said.

Meanwhile, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, who paid her last respects to Sister Nirmala at the Mother House, posted on the tweeter: “Saddened at the passing away of Sister Nirmala who headed the Missionaries of Charity after Mother Teresa. Kolkata and the world will miss her.”

Crying for Hilsa

Arindam Sarkar

With the onset of monsoon and the peak season of the silver crop around the corner, all eyes are riveted towards the porous Indo-Bangla border. Bengal’s fish importers and connoisseurs are hoping that despite Bangladesh’s ban, as in the last three years, Hilsa of River Padma would be clandestinely smuggled into Bengal.

However, Bengal is keeping its finger crossed because in the last three years smuggling of Hilsa from Bangladesh has gradually reduced. “In 2012, the year Hilsa was banned, around 1,200 metric tonne was smuggled into Bengal. But in 2013 and 2014, only 600 metric tonne of Hilsa found its way through the porous Indo-Bangla border illegally,” said Secretary of West Bengal Fish Importers Association Syed Anwar Maqsood.

Bangladesh banned Hilsa in 2012 during the month of Ramadan on the grounds that they were not able to meet the domestic demand. But in due course it took a political colour. In 2014, Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina told Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee that Dhaka would not export Hilsa to Bengal unless the Indo-Bangla Teesta Water Sharing Treaty was signed.

It is learnt that before the banning of Hilsa, West Bengal Fish Importers Association imported 6,000 metric tonne of Hilsa from Bangladesh. “As the demand for Bangladesh Hilsa was increasing, our import also increased. Bangladesh Hilsa is sold in Bengal at Rs 1,200 per kg,” said Syed Anwar Maqsood.

The banning gave rise to smuggling of Hilsa. In the last three years, trucks loaded with tonnes of Hilsa entered Bengal from porous borders at Benapole and Lalgola. The smuggling of Hilsa through the porous border takes place during the peak catch season stretching from July to December.

“With the tightening of border vigilance and Bangladesh determined not to give Hilsa until and unless Teesta treaty is signed, we don’t know how much Hilsa could be smuggled into Bengal in 2015,” said Syed Anwar Maqsood.

According to Processing Manager of BENFISH Sushanta Kumar Mondol: “This year during Jamai Shasthi, we were told that we would get 500 kg of Bangladesh Hilsa for our mobile catering service. But we got nothing.”  

With supply from Bangladesh almost zero, people are satisfying themselves with the Hilsa from Myanmar, Diamond Harbour, Raidighi, Mumbai, Gujarat and Odisha. “Our domestic Hilsa catch every season is around 6,000 metric tonne. But even the domestic catch is falling over the years,” rued Syed Anwar Maqsood.

Apparently, the migration of Hilsa from Bay of Bengal to other places, pollution of coastal water, excessive trawling, catching of small Hilsas are all affecting the domestic production of the silver crop. Debabrata Khuntia, who specializes in fishing Hilsa in Bay of Bengal, said that 10 years back the fishermen used to catch not less than 30 tonnes of fish in a single fish-landing center in coastal Bengal. But today they catch only 5 tonne of Hilsa during the three-month season.

With the rise in domestic consumption in Bengal, the banning of the silver crop by Bangladesh and the fall in border smuggling is worrying both the fish importers and the Hilsa fanatics.

And quiet flows the Teesta

Arindam Sarkar

Not before the 2016 Assembly elections in Bengal but ahead of the 2018 of the parliamentary polls in Bangladesh, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee is likely to give her nod to the Indo-Bangla Teesta Water Sharing Treaty – being pursued by Prime Minister Narendra Modi – provided Bengal’s share of water is not compromised.

In her talks with Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina during her two visits to Dhaka and during her confabulations with Narendra Modi, Mamata conveyed that it was not possible to have the water pact before the impending Assembly polls and that realistic riverine data should be taken into consideration before deciding how much Teesta water should be shared with Bangladesh.

As advised by river and ecological experts, Mamata believes unless the water sharing treaty is based on realistic data of water volume in Teesta, the river will not fulfill the unrealistic irrigation command area in either Bengal or Bangladesh. And North Bengal would suffer significantly.

“According to international convention, India cannot stop water from flowing into Bangladesh. What is important is how much Teesta water can be shared by Bengal and Bangladesh. The percentage is negotiable,” said river expert Professor Kalyan Rudra.

The Central Water Commission has concluded that Teesta, which originates in Sikkim and flows 72 km downstream in the Jalpaiguri district of North Bengal from the Gajaldoba Barrage, would irrigate 9.22 lakh hectares of land in Bengal and seven-lakh hectares in Rangpur district of Bangladesh.

The Central Water Commission has said that in the first phase Teesta would irrigate 3.6 lakh hectares of land. But given the present volume of water, Teesta irrigates only 40,000 hectres of land in Bengal.

“The whole concept is unrealistic. What’s more, once the 23 hydel power projects start operating on Teesta, the flow of water would further reduce and affect irrigation in the downstream. Plus, the river biodiversity, water table and its ecological flow would go for a toss,” said a river expert.

Experts have told the CM that before taking any decision on sharing Teesta with Bangladesh, a detailed real-time data of river’s ecological flow, a study of the river’s sustainability, engineering and its environmental impact should be prepared.

There is not much volume of water in Teesta during the lean season from November 1 to May 31. The water however is in abundance during the monsoon from June to September. But that will not serve the demand of Bangladesh. In downstream, Teesta enters Bangladesh from Burigram and from Duani Barrage flows 20 km to mix into River Brahmaputra.

During the Ganga-Farakka Water Sharing Treaty with Bangladesh in 1996, a proportionate water-sharing table of a 10 days cycle was prepared for the period of January 1 to May 31. And the preceding 40 years average was also taken into consideration.

Mamata wants a similar table to be prepared. On one hand is to study the availability of Teesta water throughout the year and the second important factor is to study the life of the people dependent on the river.

Around 15 lakh people in Jalpaiguri district live on the banks of the Teesta. Fall in the water table would affect them, the ecology of the river and irrigation. Many fish will go extinct and birds will stop migrating. People will be displaced and agriculture will be destroyed.

For Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, signing of the Teesta treaty would be a major boost before she faces elections in 2018. But with Bengal hesitant and Bangladesh desperate, Teesta is caught in the politics of water. In fact, Teesta needs a scientific approach on its utility and not a diplomatic coup to fathom its problems.

Moitree Express and other cross-border trains

Arindam Sarkar

It began with a once a week service between Kolkata and Dhaka. Now, Moitree Express connects Kolkata in India and Dhaka in Bangladesh four times a week.

On April 14, 2008, Moitree Express joined league with several other cross-border passenger and goods trains that are plying across two countries – and different continents.

Closer home, Samjhauta Express and Thar Express are running on the Western Front of the country between India and Pakistan. In the recent past, train services have been resumed between North Korea and South Korea.

And in Europe, the Eurostar is running through the tunnel under the English Channel and connecting England with the rest of Europe.

The train services from East Bengal (present Bangladesh) to Bengal in India began in the early 1920s and continued till 1965. Then the service was terminated.

The 1971 Bangladesh Liberation War destroyed the train communication link. And post-war efforts to start the train service failed to take off for many decades.

In 1996, with the coming of Sheikh Hasina-led Awami League Government in power in Bangladesh, fresh efforts were made to resume the service. But it was delayed, as infrastructure was not in place. The rail links between Jessore and Bongaon was badly damaged.

However, by the end of Sheikh Hasina’s term, the then Indian Railways Minister Mamata Banerjee restored the plying off goods train service via Petrapole in Bongaon and Benapole in Bangladesh in January 2001.

History records that India and Bangladesh signed an agreement on July 12, 2001, to resume direct train service between Dhaka and Kolkata, initially for three years. This agreement has been renewed and the duration of the train service has been extended up to 2010 during the visit of the then External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee to Dhaka.

On January 16, 2004, India and Pakistan made history when it resumed passenger train services – Samjhauta Express – between New Delhi and Lahore. The train service was resumed after 41 years.

The Train to Pakistan was born out of an accord signed between former Prime Ministers Indira Gandhi and Zulfikar Ali Bhutto in 1972 at Simla.

Samjhauta Express ran uninterruptedly from June 1976 to early 1984. Thereafter, it has stopped several times on its tracks. The train service was suspended for a fortnight during Operation Bluestar. Services were again briefly terminated during the demolition of the Babri Masjid in 1992.

From January 2002 to January 2004, Samjhauta Express service was terminated following the attack on Indian Parliament and cross-border infiltration and militancy.

On February 18, 2006, India and Pakistan resumed the oldest cross- border train service – Thar Express. Plying over the western deserts, Thar Express connects Jodhpur in Rajasthan with Karachi in Pakistan. 

Munabao in Barmar district and Kokhrapar in the Sindh province are the two last railway stations of India and Pakistan respectively. Barmar and Mirpur Khas are the customs and immigration check stations on Indian and Pakistan sides respectively.

Somewhere else in Asia, on December 2007, history was made across the tense Korean border at Kaesong when both North Korea and South Korean ran the first goods train service. Now efforts are on to run passenger service across the border that chilled after the 1950-53 Korean War.

The train service is perceived as one of the tangible results of the October 2007 Summit between North Korean leader Kim Jong II and South Korean President Roh Moo-hyun.  

And last but not the least is the Eurostar service that began between London and Paris on November 17, 2007. Running through the Channel Tunnel Rail Link (High Speed I), Eurostar connects London with Paris in little over two hours.

From Paris, Eurostar travels to Toulouse, Avignon, Strasbourg and Brussels in Belgium.