She indignantly explains why carrying fish in plastic tubs, as these ‘north Indians’ do, is unhygienic. Fish kept in ice need to be cleaned at regular intervals and the ice replaced as it melts, she explains. Not doing so affects the taste as well as the freshness, she claims.“We keep sea food in a Topli (basket) to keep them warm and fresh. We also clean the Koyata (a sharp knife) before attending to each customer, which these north Indian vendors don’t,” she explains.That is the reason why Kolis, she said, are against moving door-to-door with fish. The fish lose freshness if moved. Some get stale faster than others and result in losses. For centuries, the community has developed a business network which, if broken, affects the entire community.Worlikar also laments the extinction of an old lifestyle. “It is true that the younger generation of Kolis are losing interest in fishing. The women, having to deal with business, continue to wait for buyers in the markets allotted to them.”The community was classified as a Scheduled Tribe till 1995 when they were put in the category of ‘Special Backward Class’. Successive governments, she says, have allowed builders to take over Koliwadas and gradual encroachment of the coast.In 1998, Shiv Sena chief Bal Thackeray and the then chief minister Manohar Joshi asked the fisherwomen to shift to a new market in Dadar. The BMC has however declared it to be illegal, Worlekar fumes. All the fisherwomen, who have had the license to trade over four to five generations are now selling fish outside the Dadar market. BMC, informs Worlekar, wants them to move to Navi Mumbai.
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