Vacate Sassoon Dock, port authority tells fishers, traders

Hindustan Times

7 hours ago

MUMBAI: It's well before dawn but the dock is already alive with handcart-pullers, porters, exporters – and, at the heart of it all, the Koli women. As the early catch is hauled ashore, a pungent aroma settles over the landing sites, anointing the daily ritual. Moments later, several tonnes of seafood slip into a supply chain that starts right here, at Sassoon Dock, on the city's eastern waterfront, in Colaba. Fish on sale at Sassoon dock (Hindustan Times)
But the dock will fall eerily silent if the Mumbai Port Authority (MPA) follows through on its verbal ultimatum to fish traders and the fishing community – 'vacate the MPA's godowns within 15 days, or face eviction', they have been told.
The threat has triggered alarm for thousands of fishermen, seafood suppliers, shopkeepers and restaurant owners who rely on the sale of fish for their livelihood, not to mention the thousands of workers who populate the supply chain, at the dock and beyond.
Matters have boiled over again in a dispute that has dragged on for decades. At the core of the clash is a disagreement between the MPA and the state-run Maharashtra State Fisheries Development Corporation (MFDC) over rental payments for godowns owned by the port authority.
While MFDC rents the godowns to seafood processors, the latter have allegedly defaulted on payments to the MPA over Ready Reckoner rates. The confrontation has lasted 30 years.
The last serious face-off took place in 2014, when MPA had told godown users to vacate. However, a meeting with ministers in 2015 resulted in a consensus to protect the fishing industry by forming a tripartite agreement among stakeholders. Fisher groups claim that despite that meeting, no formal steps were taken over the next decade. Now, without implementing the promised agreement, the MPA is once again threatening eviction.
The directive has led to a grassroots movement to 'Save Sassoon Dock'. Operators of the dock's 80-90 godowns say the move will dismantle an economic ecosystem. For each godown, at least 50 to 100 labourers are employed, rendering them jobless.
Ruksana Khan, who owns Harbour Exports and supplies seafood to restaurants, says: 'I've been working here since I was very young. My entire family, including my daughter, is involved. We pay ₹ 15 lakh annually in taxes. We handle 200-300 tonnes of seafood daily. This eviction will render us jobless.'
According to Krishna Pawle, president of the Shiv Bharatiya Port Sena, a federation of 14 fisher associations, a shutdown would impact a nationwide supply chain. 'This is not just about Mumbai. Seafood from Sassoon Dock is sent to Gujarat, Kerala, Alibag and beyond. Workers from Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh have been working here for decades. They will all be unemployed,' said Pawle.
The dock area also supports communities such as the Banjara Samaj, who specialise in shelling prawns and fish. 'We contribute to foreign exchange earnings,' Pawle added, underlining the broader economic implications of the dock's operations.
He says there is no reason the fishing community should be held responsible. 'We were given these godowns to use by the MFDC. If the MPA wants to reclaim them, they should take possession from MFDC. Why are we being dragged into this?'
Vasant Bhuchade, president of the Marine Products Auctioneers Association (MPAA), points out that the godowns have been operational before independence, and some families are now in their fourth generation managing them. 'Without these processing units, the seafood supply chain will collapse, and the government will lose crucial revenue.'
For now, the MPA is adamant. Despite repeated attempts, a senior official from the MPA was unavailable for comment.