Arpora: The cool, rainy afternoon set the perfect tone for a Sunday siesta, but residents of Arpora and Nagoa chose not to take that bait. They instead donned their raincoats, made a beeline to the Baga creek which winds through Arpora’s Tambudki Vaddo, and whipped out their fishing rods just to be part of an angling competition organised by the local village panchayat.The competition, which is arguably the first of its kind hosted by a local self-governing body, saw as many as 52 fishing enthusiasts across ages—the oldest being 65 years old—cast their lines into the creek in the hope of bagging at least one of the many cash prizes that the panchayat had on offer, including the first catch of the day and the heaviest individual fish.Youngsters were particularly enthused by the prospect of being able to hunt for their own food, with the youngest participant—all of two years old—observing with rapt attention as his father guided the rod held by his little hands towards where the fish were gathering. Avid local youth, for whom fishing is second nature, also went all out to teach awe-struck younger children the nitty-gritty of angling.It was made amply clear at the competition that angling is no longer limited to just boys and men. Six females—the youngest among them in her pre-teens—also took the plunge and patiently spent close to three hours in the hope of landing a fish.In the end, the heaviest fish caught was a little short of 500g, while the smallest was just 3cm-long. One experienced angler from the village took home a prize for catching as many as 11 freshwater fish all by himself. Prize money ranged from Rs 1,000 to Rs 3,000 and was accompanied by certificates too.“The panchayat had a light bulb moment and decided to organise this angling competition as a means to perpetuate the pastime among the younger generations and give a clarion call to protect our natural resources,” said sarpanch Roshan Redkar. “Even if we lose all our wealth, we will never go hungry as long as we have fields to cultivate and rivers to fish from.”
