Najafgarh Jheel a livelihood for many
Ikrar packing his catch from the Najafgarh Jheel on Sunday (Dec. 19)
Daily fish catch from here is sold in Uttam Nagar
by Pankaj Patrakar
New Delhi, Dec. 20 (Delhi Crown): The Najafgarh Jheel is a good source of marine life which, in turn, becomes a daily source of income for some families. For the past several years, it has been a regular business for a number of families living in Uttam Nagar and Goyla Dairy to catch fish from here and sell in the open markets, mainly in Uttam Nagar.
It all depends on the size of the catch per day which decides their daily income.
“This area is a good source of fish catch. My brother has been coming here daily for over a decade. He catches fish and sell it in Uttam Nagar market. We get a lot many varieties of fish from here, including Soli, Mangur, Tilupia, Rohu, and many others. At times we have caught even fish weighing up to 15 kgs from this very spot,” Imran, a fish-catcher, told www.thedelhicrown.com on Sunday (Dec. 19).
Coming out of on the Najafgarh Jheel along the bandh-road adjacent to Village Ghummanhera, Imran said – “up till this spot the water is clean. It gets polluted as the stream flows towards Chhawla, after waste water full of chemicals coming out of industrial units located in Gurugram falls into it.”
On being asked if the catch from this is edible amid reports of water being polluted here, Imran confidently said – “It’s perfect for health. No issues. It’s a well-known fact that fish don’t survive in polluted waters. Water is clean here.”
According to him, when the polluted water, full of chemical waste, comes in huge quantities from Gurugram’s side, the flow of the stream reverses and fish start dying at this spot too.
“If the chemically-polluted coming out of Gurugram industries is stopped, or the Government makes some arrangements to stop it coming in the reverse direction, this place can turn into a good source of marine life, and we can get a large catch every day,” added Imran.
“We spend nearly 4-5 hours here since 7.00/8.00 a.m. Sometimes we get a good catch, and at times we have to go empty handed,” said Imran, who claimed to be a Graduate.
He further stated – “Before the lockdown I used to run a Mobile phone repairing shop. But for the past two years, because of the pandemic I was rendered unemployed. So, I come here to assist my brother, who has been coming here for over a decade now.”
Ikrar, another fish-catcher, had a big catch last Sunday. While packing the fish-catch in an ice-box on the back of his two-wheeler, he told www.thedelhicrown.com – “Some of it I caught myself, and bought the rest from another fish-catcher. I sell it in Uttam Nagar market in the range of Rs 150-200 per kg depending on the fish variety.”
