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Film captures green magic of fishermen's society
By Sujoy Dhar, Indo-Asian News Service

Kolkata, May 28 (IANS) A few kilometres away from polluted Kolkata, a fishermen's group has succeeded in turning an industrial waste dump into a zone of fresh air, greenery and placid blue waters.

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Now their endeavour has been captured by an award-winning documentary filmmaker and will be shown before an international audience when the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) screens the film - "Nature Park" - in London on World Environment Day June 5.

Directed by Robin De, it highlights the exemplary work of simple folk organised under the Mudialy Fishermen's Cooperative Society. 

The film has already travelled to a festival in California and after its screening in London by the UNEP, it would be screened at other festivals in Greece, Italy and Ireland, De told IANS. 

At Nature Park on the western outskirts of Kolkata, a visitor will be welcomed by the constant chirping of birds while in winter migratory birds travel across long distances to flock to treetops there. 

"You may even mistake it as a new extension to the City Zoo nearby. But this is an industrial garbage dumping pit and the wastewater pool of the Kolkata Port next door turned into an eco-friendly place by the fishermen," said De. 

The impoverished fishermen of the cooperative were encouraged and supported by the fisheries department of the West Bengal government to create this Nature Park that provides the livelihood of the fishermen through aquaculture, plantations and other potentials. 

They transformed it over three or four years.

"Since its opening a year ago, the park is home to 127 varieties of plants, many with medicinal value. The regular presence of 119 species of birds has been recorded here," said De. 

"The first steps towards building tourism infrastructure have begun; with paddleboats and motorboats on the water, a bird-watcher's tower, picnic spots, inexpensive food stalls and other amenities," said De.

The cooperative is involved in other activities like horticulture and floriculture, animal husbandry and farm forestry as well. 

The success has come only after a long and arduous effort by the poor fishermen who have created the park. 

"Nature Park today makes a small but significant impact on global warming by reducing about 15 million tonnes of carbon dioxide every year. The Biological Oxygen Demand of what was wastewater has been reduced at the entry point to a mere 10 ppm from a staggering 150," said state fisheries joint director Madhumita Mukherjee. 

"The park provides inexpensive protein food for people as well," she said.