Poor catch leads to higher prices
Staff Reporter
GUWAHATI: The age-old community fishing in Deepor Beel in Guwahati began amidst fanfare today.
As the tradition goes, community fishing in this Ramsar Site begins on the first Sunday of January in every English calendar year. This fishing practice under the aegis of the Deepor Beel Pachpara Samabai Samiti has attained the stature of a festival, as this practice is redolent of a folk culture of the fishermen community, besides being the means of their livelihood.
According to the Deepor Beel Pachpara Samabai Samiti, the catch today is much less than in bygone years, and that has led to higher prices this year. The price line in 'aska,' a traditional system of this community fishing that does not allow the use of beam balance (doga palla), is on the higher side. The large-scale assemblage of buyers has also raised the price line on the very first day of the community fishing.
Around 825 families of the villages in the greater Azara near Deepor Beel eke out their livelihood by selling fish caught from this wetland.
The Deepor Beel Pachpara Samabai Samiti came into being for the welfare of this fishermen community. The cooperative society releases fish fry and fingerlings in this beel during the rainy season every year and starts community fishing after six months on the first Sunday of January every year.
In conformity with the folk culture and traditions of the fishing community, they offer prayers near the beel on the penultimate night of the onset of fishing season. The elderly women of the community offered prayers at the Krishna Mandir near the water body in the evening of Saturday.
Also Read: Guwahati: Community Fishing Festival at Deepor Beel from January 5
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