Koli women struggle in BMC's biggest fish market

Mumbai: Amid the various initiatives to boost blue revolution in Maharashtra, female fish vendors at the Marol dry fish market have been struggling for basic amenities in their daily occupation.  

More than 7000 fisherwomen operate in the  Brihanmumbai Munic-ipal Corporation (BMC) market at Marol. However their demand to get sufficient security and facilities has fallen on deaf ears, while they continue to sell fish without proper lights and in unsanitary conditions.

Marol dry fish market is one of the largest fish market in Mumbai, whe-re women are the prominent fish sellers. The women group has written to the authorities citing their demands ranging from proper lighting in the market to keeping the market free from any encroachment. “There is no proper lighting in the market and many times we have to come back late in the night and it becomes very unsafe,” said Pratibha Bhate, a fish vendor, at the Marol dry fish market.

“In the last ten years, we have been taking care of the cleanliness in the market. We have not been provided with cleaners for the market from where majority of the fish is sold to Mumbai. Many-a-times we come back the next day to see broken liquor bottles,  left over food. When we are unlucky, we have encountered drunkards too,” said Rajshri Bhanji, chairperson of Marol Bazar Koli Mahila Mase Vikreta Sanstha (MBKMMVS)

A major bone of contention between the women fish vendors and the BMC is the encroachment of structures near the market. “The BMC has allowed a structure inside our premises, for shifting of project-affected people. Thousands of women are associated with this market and we are already struggling with space crunch here. We are afraid that more structures will come inside our market, as nearby shops and hotels are also not prohibited to dump their waste here,” added Ms. Bhanji.

Sagarshakti, a non-government organisation working towards conservation of coastline, has been creating awareness on the plight of the women fish-vendors.  “When we talked to them, they were  aware of their rights and impact of policies like CRZ on their occupation,” said Sarita Fernandes, project director of Sagarshakti.