Mysuru: Stopping dynamite blast fishing in the river stream of Krishna Raja Sagar (KRS) Dam has taken on a new urgency as the crude practice is taking a toll on populations of fish and at the same time harming the people who indulge in such activities.

Dynamites or other types of explosives are used to send shock-waves through the water, stunning or killing fish which are then collected and sold. The blasts destroy the habitat, killing aquatic creatures indiscriminately, reducing future catches, affecting food security and the livelihoods of the fishing communities.

Following a letter by a reader about rampant blast fishing in the river part of the Dam, Star of Mysore conducted a reality check. Shockingly, blasting activity to catch fish is rampant on the downstream where small impoverished explosive devices are brought and blasted on the river bed. The practice of blast fishing is followed at downstream villages including Srirangapatna, Palahalli, Sagarakatte, Badanakuppe, Karighatta, Gosai Ghat, Belagola, Chandel near Sangam and surrounding villages.

Making a quick buck

Though they have permission to fish in the river, villagers and fishermen groups resort to blast fishing to make a quick buck and they procure the explosives from quarries, mining and construction industries.

The impoverished explosive device is called “Thota” in local parlance and has gunpowder and gelatine sticks for high-intensity blasts. It has a four to five inch wick for ignition. Sometimes, even beer bottles are used for the blasts to make a high impact. Villagers also call it as ‘Jala Bomb’, ‘Cape’ and ‘Yetu’.

Villagers on condition of anonymity told Star of Mysore that each “Thota” is available for as less as Rs.50 to Rs.100 and one impoverished explosive device can easily fetch an income of Rs.3,000 to Rs.4,000 after selling the fish. The explosives are either thrown from the river bank or thrown from a dinghy or a “Theppa” or a coracle.

Hotels are big buyers

There are many easy methods of making home-made explosives from common ingredients and they can cause high-intensity blasts. Due to the impact of the blast, fish suffer instant shock and die of  heart attack.

They are collected after they float and sold at villages and hotels. Hotels are big buyers of this fish as the fish from the high seas are expensive, said villagers.

Hands maimed

Apart from killing fish en-masse, the blasts have endangered the lives of Otters that have habitats along the river stream. Not only this, there are many cases where fishermen have injured themselves while blasting the impoverished explosive devices.

Usually, the wick of the blast is only four to five inches and when ignited, fire spreads instantly and the device sometimes explodes in the hands before even it is hurled into water.

Villagers said that there are more than 15 persons in Srirangapatna taluk who have lost their hands due to the explosion. Sometimes, the explosives are thrown deep into the river where rocky ditches are covered in water. Many times, due to the impact, rocks and splinters fly and have hit the villagers, they said.

Under the nose of authorities

“A plain visit to KRS surroundings will not reveal anything but a close watch along the downstream reveals the actual scale of the blasts,” said another villager. The source of the explosive is kept so secret that only trusted people gain access to them after using code words, they said. The blasts usually occur from 10.30 am to 12 noon and from 3 pm to 4.30 pm. The fish is later carried to the market place.

Forest Department sleuths are unable to take action against this menace as the blasting activities are held in remote areas where there are no access roads. Also, since a particular group of villagers indulge in this activity, they shift from one point to other almost every day making it near to impossible to track.

By M.T. Yogesh Kumar

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