Beaches gone, Karwar fishermen at sea

On March 31, 1999, Ganpathi Tandel, then 40 and a resident of Aligadda village in Karwar, was having his lunch when he heard the sound of heavy machinery. Before he could react, a bulldozer started demolishing his house. Tandel along with his wife and 4 kids ran for his life leaving his belongings behind.

A fisherman by profession, Tandel watched as the district administration went about reducing his flimsy house to rubble. In a matter of minutes, his house was gone; so was his old life.

The 62-yr-old now lives in Binga, 18 km away from Aligadda. “Four decades ago, I used to own a fishing boat (Rampani) and one fishing expedition would earn me enough money to survive the next four-five months. Now, I am working as a labourer in a Purse-seine boat of Mangaluru-based owner,” he said.

Ganapathi cannot use his traditional fishing boat as the beach near Binga is not shallow enough and needs to be de-silted regularly.

Tandel is one of 4,400 families, including 2,600 fishermen families, displaced by the Indian Navy's Sea Bird, Asia’s largest naval base, in Karwar. So far, fishermen have lost 12 of the 13 major fishing beaches between Karwar and Ankola due to the project; their livelihoods were wrecked as they can't freely fish in open waters.

With the rehabilitation remaining unpopular, there is a strong resentment against the ‘men in white’, and tensions sometimes boil over.

The foundation stone for the project was laid by late PM Rajiv Gandhi in Oct 1986 and the acquisition process started between 1988 and 2000. Phase-1 was completed in 2005.

After court interventions, farmers were provided Rs 11,300 per gunta of land they lost for the project (higher compensation was awarded in 2016).

The majority of the 2,600 fishermen families were rehabilitated at Amadalli, Majalli and Chitakol. According to the fishermen, none of the three rehabilitation centres are ideal for them.

Take for example Chitakol, which is 6 km away from the sea. Fishermen say only 1 per cent of the total displaced fishermen families are continuing with their traditional profession at the rehabilitation centres. A large number of families have changed their profession, while a section of them has migrated to Mumbai, Goa and other port cities to work as fishing labourers.

“The beach where Sea Bird is housed has the highest population of fishes and that was the traditional fishing ground for us," said Manjunath Talekar, a fisherman at Harwad village in Ankola taluk. The village is around 12 km from the Sea Bird project.

"The areas where we have been asked to fish now are dry. Due to strong current, our nets near permitted areas are carried towards the buffer zone and prohibited areas. When we go to fetch our nets and catch, navy personnel using their speed boats create a whirl around our boats and drown us.”

At least 25 fishermen in Baithakola, Arga, Todar, Binga, Mudga, Kodar and Belikeri villages claimed they had been "stripped naked and beaten black and blue".

However, so far only two police complaints have been registered, as locals fear consequences from the "gun-wielding men in uniform".

Why so much land?

Activist Vikas Tandel questioned the need for acquiring all the fishing grounds in Karwar for the project. “Naval Station Norfolk, USA, is the world’s largest naval base and is spread over a 6.4-km area, whereas INS Kadamba in Karwar after completion of its second phase will become the third largest. The Navy has acquired more than 23 km for the purpose,” he said.

To malign navy

Project Sea Bird Public Relations Officer Capt Ajay Kapoor dismissed the allegations. “There have been instances where fishermen have strayed into the prohibited area and the guarding personnel have requested them to return,” he said.

Sea Bird is home to INS Vikramaditya and several other defence installments. Allowing fishermen to fish in these waters could compromise the security of these military operators, he said.

Uttara Kannada Deputy Commissioner Prabhulinga Kavalikatti said "only two complaints have been filed so far". "Every time such an issue arises, the administration holds a meeting with sea bird officials and resolves the issue," he said.