Lok Sabha elections 2024: Koliwada fishermen to boycott elections over broken promises

A banner put up by the affected fishermen and women

If politicians and local administration think they can make promises and dump the electorate after winning the elections, it is time to rethink.

Fishermen hailing from Hanuman Koliwada in Uran have decided to abstain from voting as a means to voice their frustration and protest against their enduring suffering spanning nearly four decades. Their grievances stem from the lack of compensation and rehabilitation following the establishment of the JNPT port between 1984 and 1985. Despite persistent appeals, their pleas have been consistently ignored by elected officials and district administrations, leaving them with a trail of broken promises.

One of the aggrieved fishermen, Paramanand Koli, said, "We have already written to the chief minister and concerned competent authorities from the district administration, expressing our dismay and decision of not casting our votes on Monday. However, other than giving us verbal assurances, as always, nothing concrete has come out of the talks. The last talk was with the district collector Raigad, and we are firm on our decisions."

The issue

When asked the reason for boycotting the election, Koli said "We belong to the fishermen community, whose livelihoods and ancestral lands were taken through land acquisition for the establishment of the JNPT port in 1982. Despite assurances from the state government, promises of compensation, alternative land parcels, and employment for one family member at JNPT have yet to be honored for all affected fishermen's families.

Fisherwomen from Hanuman Nagar have been fighting to get their rehabilitation package

"Out of 256 affected fishermen from our village, only 42 of them were given jobs in JNPT till date; similarly, only 105 were to be given land parcels, which we have objected to," Koli added.

Learning the truth

According to Koli, the problem was that in those days, the fishermen were concerned about their livelihood, and they consented to everything the state government wanted them to agree on. Hence there was no revolt, and today, with the educated, next-generation, people from the village started making inquiries under the Right to Information (RTI). A lot of facts have started coming out of the closet since.

"For example, previously, our concerns were primarily focused on rehabilitation, employment, and compensation. Each time, the district administration would make promises that turned out to be false, and we would trust their words. However, over the past few years, we discovered certain truths supported by documentary evidence that left us shocked and abandoned. We uncovered that the Grampanchayat of Hanuman Koliwada was established illegally, and orchestrated by individuals with vested interests and collusion with the district administration. More recently, during a meeting with senior officials and bureaucrats at Mantralaya in the first week of May, we were informed that our village, Hanuman," said Koli.

"We have been also informed by the State Election Commission, that they cannot have an election booth in a transit camp, and until 2019, the village primary school run by Zilla Parishad was the polling centre. Though this time too, a polling station has been put up, this predominantly is for the villagers from adjacent villages, who prefer visiting the polling station in our village than travel two kilometres away," said Koli.

What next?

"Our Koliwada has over 1250 eligible voters (600 females and 650 men) and we all have unanimously decided to boycott voting. Our village has 200 houses with 450 families," said Koli. "Our next step will be to boycott the Vidhansabha and local elections, and this time, we will be coming together along with our entire Koli community. Our village has a smaller population, but the other 15 to 16 koliwadas itself have more than 5000 to 7000 people, and together we will boycott the future elections, till our demand is met."

Otherside

A senior official from the district administration, requesting anonymity, confirmed to mid-day the dispute that the Hanuman Koliwada fishermen have been raising for decades, and the matter may get resolved with the intervention of the state government faster than otherwise.

256
Total No. of affected fishermen