Villagers hold fishing fest to clean waterbodies

Anantnag: Residents of Panzath village here have found a novel way of keeping their water bodies clean. They hold a fishing festival annually in which men of all ages clean the lakes and ponds, all the while managing to catch some fishes too!
What sets the exercise apart is that people do not use fishing rods but baskets made of wicker or plastic containers to catch fish. The containers are dipped into the water and then pulled out with trash collected in them, which are then unloaded on the banks of the water body. People, if lucky, find fishes from among the trash. The trash is later discarded.
"Today people are gathered here to celebrate the annual fishing day. The main aim of this celebration is to clean the water bodies. Like we wait for the Eid to be celebrated every year, the same way we celebrate this day," Farooq Ahmad Bhat, a local resident of the village said.
"We request the LG administration that this place be designated as a tourist spot which is just a few kilometers away from the Gateway to Kashmir (Qazigund)," Bhat said.
"We have seen thousands of fishes die due to polluted water in Dal Lake. That's why we clean this water body. This water is used for irrigation purposes here and also as a source of drinking water for two districts," he added.
Another resident Mudasir said children and adults both come for fishing during the festival held on the last Sunday of May every year.
Mudasir, who also said the festival helps clean the streams, said the event has gained popularity as people from other parts of Anantnag district also come to take part in it.
"Earlier, only people belonging to this village would come for fishing, but now people from the entire Anantnag district do fishing here," he added.
A senior official of the district's tourism department said the department has already included Panzath in the proposed list of places which could be developed as new tourist destinations.
"It is already on the list. The department has carried out some works in the past as well. Like the development of a park for visitors, and the beautification around the springs in the area," tourism official Bilal Ahmad said.