Naugachia, Nov. 28: Floodwater has receded and it is now time for a different calamity. Gangsters in diaras have regrouped and are seeking rights over fishing.

The guns, which had fallen silent because of floods, have once again started rattling. The farmers on the islands on Ganga and Kosi rivers have started cultivating and have taken up fishing in the diaras. Destined to face the vagaries of nature and live in the fear of gunfights, the helpless inhabitants of the diaras continue to live in extreme deprivation.

The killing of two persons — Pholo Yadav and Ramdhani Mandal at Baikathpur Dhdhala diara — under Bihpur police station at Naugachia on November 26 has sparked tension in the entire area. According to Rajesh Tiwary, the station house officer of Bihpur, prima facie, the incident was related to an old dispute over jalkar (right over fishing) between two groups of gangsters. “Every year, many people lose their lives in jalkar disputes. In 1991, the Lalu Prasad government had abolished jalkar zamindari (fishing rights in the waters of Ganga) enjoyed by Mahashay Mahesh Ghosh of Mahashay Ghosh family, the erstwhile zamindars of Bhagalpur,” said Mukesh Kumar, a lawyer at Patna High Court and a native of Gopalpur.

He added: “The Ghosh family was gifted rights over the Ganga stretch from Sultanganj to Pirpainty by Mughal emperor Akbar. The Lalu government abolished the jalkar but was yet to establish any alternative to control fishing activities in the areas.”

According to Mukesh, criminals have subsequently established their fishing rights here, which resulted in frequent murders in the area. According to him, last year two fishermen were killed at Buddhuchak under Gopalpur police station during an encounter between two groups of diara gangsters. Villagers at Buddhuchak and Fulkia apprehended untoward incidents, as criminals have started mobilising in the area to takeover the fishing rights.

According to police records, nine people were killed because of the dispute of Singhkund jalkar at Pirpainty in 1983. The bodies of the victims were chopped into pieces and were thrown into the Kosi. Two fishermen were killed because of a jalkar dispute near Bijoypur on the Kosi bank in 2005. In another incident, one member of a village fishing co-operative society was killed at Bhawanipur in 2006 while another member of the society, Promod Kumar Singh, suffered bullet injuries. In 2008, four fishermen were killed in Sonvarsha jalkar dispute. Another fisherman lost his life in the same year at Chorhar under Kharik police station.

“In many occasions, the police are hardly able to manage the records of all the killings because of the inaccessible topography of the diaras. Many fishermen from Bengal, who came here on the invitation from the jalkar owners, have fallen prey in the hands of the criminals.

Since they were outsiders, no one had lodged complaints against the criminals,” said Sunil Sahani, a fisherman from Tintanga diara at Pirpainty.