The families of fishermen in the Jayakwadi area, Paithan tehsil, have opposed the proposal and threatened to take Jalsamadhi in the Nath Sagar Reservoir on February 7 if the government continues the project.
The government has proposed an ambitious solar project in the Jayakwadi dam inside the Nath Sagar reservoir in Paithan. The initial process for obtaining permission from the respective departments like forest and environment has been initiated, and the project is set to start soon.
Thousands of fishermen are engaged in the fishery business in the catchment area of Jayakwadi. Their livelihood, along with their families, depends on fishing, and they do not have any other means of earning.
They have conveyed a threat to the government that thousands of men and women will take Jalsamadhi on February 7 at noon in the Nath Sagar reservoir if the decision on the solar project is not withdrawn.
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Cite serious threat to aquatic life
They submitted a memorandum to the district administration in this regard on Monday.
Thousands of fishermen from the Kahar Community, Tribal Bhilla, and Bhoi Communities catch fish in the catchment area of Nath Sagar. They claim that the proposed solar project will cover around 15,000 hectares of water and pose a serious threat to aquatic life.
Due to the project, they argue that the fish and migratory birds coming to this area will die.
The fishermen and environmentalists have opposed this project. They established the Jayakwadi Reservoir Bachav Samiti and initiated an indefinite hunger strike at the Paithan tehsil office at Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar, a few days back.
The Jayakwadi project Chief Engineer Prashant Jadhav intervened and gave a written assurance to the agitators that a proposal would be sent to the government to withdraw the solar project. Then the agitators withdrew the hunger strike. However, there has been no action taken on behalf of the government so far, the agitators claimed.
The Jayakwadi Macchimar Bachav Committee has submitted a memorandum to the district administration stating that thousands of men and women from the fishermen community will take Jalsamadhi on February 7 behind the government rest house at Nath Sagar at around noon.
