Tag: Palghar

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Palghar fisherman killed in Pak firing off Gujarat coast

The GPS tracking device onboard Jalpari will be investigated by the forensic team to find out what exactly happened. Rest of the investigation will be carried out by the Porbandar police,” added Joshi…reports Asian Lite News.

A young fisherman from Palghar in Maharashtra was killed and another was injured after Pakistan Marine Security Agency (PMSA) troops fired at a fishing boat off Okha Coast, Porbandar, Gujarat, officials said on Sunday.

The deceased fisherman has been identified as Shridhar R. Chamare (32), a resident of Vadrai, a coastal village in Palghar district. The incident has sparked anger among the fishing community here.

Chamare’s body has been brought back to Okha and sent for post-mortem, confirmed the Devbhoomi Dwarka police. A case of murder has been registered in Porbandar as the incident happened in sea beyond 12 nautical miles. More details are awaited.

“‘Jalpari’, an Indian boat, sailed from Okha in Devbhoomi Dwarka district on October 25. The incident happened at around 4 pm on Saturday. One of the fishermen died after being hit by a bullet fired by PMSA troops. The boat returned to Okha on Sunday morning with the deceased and the injured fisherman, both hit by PMSA firing,” Dwarka SP Sunil Joshi said.

“The GPS tracking device onboard Jalpari will be investigated by the forensic team to find out what exactly happened. Rest of the investigation will be carried out by the Porbandar police,” added Joshi.

“Chamare was working on the boat ‘Jalpari’ owned by Jayanti Bokhama for the past more than three months,” Maninder Arekar, Chairman of Vadrai Fishermen’s Cooperative Society, said in a statement.

The fishermen have demanded that the governments of Maharashtra and Gujarat should take up the matter with the Indian government to ensure that the body of Chamare is returned with full dignity. They also demanded that an international probe should be ordered into the rash action by the Pakistani troops.

Slamming the incident, India-Pakistan peace activist Jatin Desai said in Mumbai, “Firing is unacceptable…it violates all international conventions. Under no circumstances traditional fishing boats should be fired upon. It’s high time that the governments of India and Pakistan work out a permanent resolution to this issue. Ideally, both should agree to have a ‘no arrest policy’ also.”

Just four days back, the Indian government had released 10 Pakistani fishermen, who were arrested for illegally crossing over to the Indian territory. Border Security Force (BSF) jawans had handed over the fishermen to Pakistani Rangers at the Attari-Wagah border on Wednesday.

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Palghar fisherman nets Rs 1.33 cr fortune from Arabian Sea

Even before they touched shore this week, word of the mega-catch had spread like wildfire and many eager buyers had already queued up to net a bargain with Tare and his team… reports Asian Lite News.

This catch was beyond the wildest imagination of Palghar fisherman Chandrakant Tare – who pulled in a net-full of 157 ‘Ghol’ (Croaker) fish, worth an astounding Rs 1.33 crore!

The good fortune struck Tare when he resumed his fishing activity on his trawler ‘Harbadevi’ with 10 others, after the two-month-long monsoon ban ended on August 15.

Tare, a resident of Murbhe coastal village, and his team set sail to Wadhwan, around 45 kms off Palghar shores, casting their nets with prayers and hopes for a good catch.

Their prayers were answered a few days later when they pulled in the nets – and found the 157 ‘Ghols’ (Protonibe Diacanthus) struggling to break free from the tough nylon strings.

Tare and his crew were stunned to find such a huge quantity of ‘Ghols’ – also known as the “sea gold” – since the fish is in huge demand as a culinary delicacy and for its internal organs in south and south-east Asia.

Even before they touched shore this week, word of the mega-catch had spread like wildfire and many eager buyers had already queued up to net a bargain with Tare and his team.

Finally, he sold it to a consortium of the highest bidders from Bihar and Uttar Pradesh – at Rs 1.33 crore – considered the highest-ever price for ‘Ghol’ in the entire Konkan region.

Coveted in Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand, Hong Kong and other countries, the ‘Ghol’ fish fins are said to have huge medicinal value, and are used by pharma companies to make soluble stitches, and for wine purification, while its bladder cures kidney stones, and its heart boosts sex power and immunity, say locals.

According to fisherman Jitendra Patil, in recent years, there has been a big drop in the fish population around the coastal areas owing to rampant marine pollution.

“We are forced to venture far into the Arabian Sea for a decent catch adding to the costs and time… We rarely net one or two ‘Ghols’, and once a fisherman had caught around a dozen in his nets. But, such a huge quantity (157) in a single catch is like God’s blessing,” said Patil.

On his part, Tare gave a thanksgiving glance to the skies and said with the income he netted, all his financial problems — piled up during the two-year pandemic period — are resolved at one shot, even as he has become a hero among the fishing communities of the state.

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