The Sardar Sarovar Dam had already reduced freshwater flows to the lower Narmada; the Bhadbhut barrage will kill what is left of the river, say local fishers
Fisherfolk are abandoning their traditional occupation due to the reduced flow of water in the Narmada and the depletion of fish stock. One such person is Kalpeshbhai (in middle) The lives of people in many areas of Gujarat have become difficult due to petrochemical industries. At the same time, climate goals are being impacted due to pollution caused by these industries. This is the fourth part of the series. Read the first, second and third parts here, here and here.
In Bhadbhut village, one gets the impression that they are looking at the last generation of fisherfolk here who have come out with their boats to catch fish in the waves.
The village is situated in Gujarat’s Bharuch district at the spot where the Narmada river meets the Gulf of Khambhat, an inlet of the Arabian Sea. The construction of the Sardar Sarovar Dam (SSD) in 2017 caused a reduction in the flow of freshwater in the Narmada. As a result, fish became scarce. The income of fishers went down.
The Bhadbhut barrage is being constructed 125 kilometres downstream from the SSD and about 25 km before the river merges with the sea. It is about 30 per cent complete. The fisherfolk look at the direction of the dam site with despair. Once it is completed, the remaining fish, fishers and boats in the area will also be gone, they say.
The Narmada is the fifth-largest river in India. It is also one of the only few westward-flowing ones. After completing a 50-km journey in Bharuch district, the sweet water of the Narmada river meets the saline water of the Gulf of Khambhat. This particular area of brackish water — an estuary — is the breeding ground of the Hilsa (Tenualosa ilisha).
The fish come here to spawn during the four months of the southwest monsoon. This period is the busiest for local fishers. The tide brings in a huge catch and provides for the fishers’ financial sustenance for the whole year. Everyone — women, farmers, drivers, fishmongers, packers and others — gets involved in the fish business. The local community’s income and food security depends on Hilsa as well as other fish and marine life such as shrimp.
Fishers of Bhadbhut say their children do not want to be part of the fishing business. Photo: Varsha Singh
The hopes of Bhadbut villagers are waning like the waters of the Narmada. Kalpesh Lakhilal Machhi quit fishing a decade back. He accompanied this reporter in his fellow fisher’s boat, to show the barrage being built in the area.
“Till 10 years ago, I too was in the fishing business. I used to catch Hilsa during the monsoon and various other types such as shrimp during the remaining eight months. After the construction of the SSD, the catch decreased greatly. Now, with the construction of the Bhadbhut barrage, there are no future prospects for fishing in the area. Hence, I have turned to carpentry. A fisher in my village has become a tailor. Someone went to work in the chemical companies here. A lot of people changed their professions,” Kalpeshbhai said.
Kalpeshbhai's two sons also work as carpenters. “My sons have completed Class 12. Since I no longer catch fish, they have not taken it up either. They also tried their hand at working in companies but did not like it.
When the men stopped catching fish, the women of the family who used to clean, dry and sell the catch, also lost their work.
The son of the fisherman in whose boat we were travelling on the Narmada is undergoing apprenticeship at an Industrial Training Institute. On the condition of anonymity, he said no young man in the area wants to catch fish anymore, having experienced so much difficulty. “The government says they will make a pond for fisherfolk in returning for taking our river and sea. It has been so many years. Yet, we have not got any pond,” he said.
Young fishermen are not seen in the estuary. Most of the boats are anchored on the shore.
The ICAR-Central Inland Fisheries Research Institute’s annual report for the year 2021 states that the construction of the Bhadbhut barrage has affected the movement of fish in the estuary, reduced availability, increased labour and input costs and reduced income of fishers.
The receding water in the river is causing many more problems in the village along with the decrease in fish.
The SSD reduced freshwater flows in the Narmada. This, in turn, caused saline water ingress in estuary villages. Photo: Varsha Singh
The highest tidal waves in India (11 metres) have been recorded in the Gulf of Khambhat. During this time, sea water enters the Narmada river. The construction of several dams upstream on the river — Indira Sagar, Omkareshwar, Maheshwar and especially SSD — has reduced freshwater in its lower reaches.
Sunil Kumar, sarpanch (head) of Bhadbhut village, said, “The sweet water of the river prevented the salt water of the sea from entering here. Since the freshwater has reduced drastically, a huge volume of salt water comes into the villages with the tide. Groundwater has also turned saline in many places. The village does not get piped drinking water. Villagers draw water from borewells.”
According to Kumar, the waste water of Bharuch district’s chemical and petrochemical cluster is aggravating this problem. “With the water in the river receding, the companies’ wastewater mixes with the sea water. We get complaints that fishes taste bad. It is all because of the chemicals,” he said.
Local fishers fear that the Bhadbhut barrage’s completion will reduce freshwater flows even more. Fish like the Hilsa will then no longer come to the area to spawn. Photo: Varsha Singh
The receding water in the Narmada is affecting both the livelihood and health of the local people. The Narmada Pollution Prevention Committee and Bharuch Nagrik Parishad had filed an appeal in the National Green Tribunal (NGT). It said the 600 cusecs of water being released from the SSD was not sufficient and the Narmada had shrunk to a small stream by the time it reached Bharuch district. The petition sought the release of 1,500 cusecs of water daily into downstream areas of the river.
The NGT did not hear the matter in 2019, stating that the water disputes tribunal and Narmada Control Authority had been set up to look into issues related to the river. The committee challenged the NGT order in the Supreme Court.
After hearing the matter on October 26, 2023 and then on January 12, 2024, the Supreme Court sent it back to the NGT.
Jayesh Patel, associated with the Narmada Pollution Prevention Committee, said, “After four years, this matter has again come to the NGT from the Supreme Court. The impact of decreasing environmental flow (e-flow) of the river is being felt by the locals. It is a double whammy for us. There is a danger of floods if water is released from the SSD during the four monsoon months. We had to face floods in 2019, 2020 and 2023 due to the release of water from the SSD in the monsoon. During the remaining eight months, saline water makes an ingress of up to 70 km upstream when the freshwater flow is low. This is causing groundwater and agriculture to be affected.”
Patel said if enough water was released from the SSD, there would have been no need for the Bhadbhut barrage.
The Bhadbhut barrage will seek to conserve Narmada sweet water along with meeting the requirements of industrial units. A six-lane causeway over it will connect Dahej PCPIR with Surat.
The purpose of the under-construction Bhadbhut barrage is to protect the water quality of Narmada water from saline ingress during high tide, prevent floods as well as to meet the water requirement of industrial units in nearby Dahej, Ankleshwar and Saykha.
Dahej, on the Gulf of Khambhat, is the fastest-growing port in the state. Industrial activities have intensified here after the Dahej PCPIR was created. There are heavy footfalls from Gujarat’s two biggest cities, Ahmedabad and Surat. The existing six-lane National Highway is jammed with traffic.
The 30-km-long Bhatbhut barrage will create a six-lane coastal road connecting the north and south ends of the Narmada between Surat, Hansot, Bhadbhut and Dahej.
Himanshu Thakkar, an environmental activist, dam and water expert, said the Bhatbhut barrage was needed to mitigate the SSD’s ill effects. This is the second mistake being made to correct the first one, he said. Thakkar remembered that 250 fishermen from Bharuch district in 40 boats had showed black flags when Prime Minister Narendra Modi came to lay the foundation stone of the Bhadbhut barrage in 2017.
“After the SSD, they are now building the barrage at Bhadbhut to mitigate the problem of increased salinity in the lower reaches of the Narmada. There was no public hearing for this. There was no talk of monitoring the environment. What impact the two dams will have on the river and the community remains to be seen,” said Thakkar.
Regarding pollution in the river and sea due to industrial wastewater, he said, “In 1974, the Water (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act was promulgated. 2024 is the golden jubilee year of this legislation. We have completely failed to control pollution. Why don’t companies treat and recycle their industrial wastewater?”
The fishers of Bhadbhut say Hilsa will no longer spawn at the site. With that, the fishing economy of the area will collapse. Photo: Varsha Singh
A fisherman makes a fishing net in Bhadbhut village. Photo: Varsha Singh
Some fishermen are preparing fish nets on the beach. Ambalal Mohan Machhi said, “If we want to build a house, organise our children’s weddings or do some big family work, the bank here does not give us a loan. But local traders used to do that. Because everyone knew that the fishing business is good here.”
“Ten years ago, a fisher could catch 1,000-1,500 fish a day. Now, he can catch 500-700 fish. Hilsa is not as frequent now as before. Even our children don’t want to be fishers anymore,” he added.
Kamlesh S Madhiwala, a lawyer and president of the Bharuch District Machhimar Samaj, a non-governmental organisation, said, “The Bhadbhut barrage will affect the livelihood of 15,000 fisher families. Last year, Hilsa worth Rs 1,000-1,200 crore was traded in Bharuch. Fishing families earned between Rs 5 lakh and Rs 15 lakh. Everyone is at risk of unemployment. When you do not have the means to provide employment to so many families, why are you taking away their traditional employment? For whom are they building dams?”
The fish market of the Bharuch Nagarpalika. Women working here say that fish stocks have dwindled, as has their income. Photo: Varsha Singh
The shortage of fish has added to the woes of fishermen as well as other workers associated with the supply chain. A group of women, who were selling their catch in the fish market of the Bharuch municipality till 12 noon, are now ready to return home. When the fish in the Narmada estuary decreased, the weight on their scales also reduced. Black crows and white herons can be seen, picking at the offal inside the building.
“Our next generation will not be fishers,” says Shardaben, who supports her family by selling fish.
This story is part of a fellowship granted by the Centre for Financial Accountability
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