We celebrated World Wetlands Day with Deshkal Publications this year, and it was very special. We were delighted to accept our partner organisation’s suggestion that we should start initiating an award in the memory of EKW pioneer Dhrubajyoti Ghosh, to be called Dhrubajyoti Ghosh Smriti Purashkar.
The award, to be given every alternate year, will go to one member of the fisherfolk community, for his/ her appreciable contribution to nature friendly fishing practices and the inter-generational continuity of his work. The award also recognises how the recipient contributed to the task of conservation in the face of odds. The award would include fisherfolk associated with wetlands as well as rivers, and serve only the state of West Bengal.
The award consists of a painting, a citation and a small cash component.
The first recipient of the award, Dinabandhu Mondal, a fish farmer from the East Kolkata Wetlands, expressed his great happiness at being the first fisherman to receive the honour.
