Kutch: Bharat Patel came to the rescue of fishermen of Kutch when industries were wiping away their livelihood. He took their voices to the authorities and despite being threatened, 'Bharat Bhai', as he's known, fought for them.
Ibrahim doesn't squint at the glare of the waters. The vast Arabian has been his home for more years than the lines on his forehead. But today, his life and livelihood are at stake. More than a lakh fishermen families along the shoreline of the Kutch are living under perpetual fear.
With the Gujarat government having sanctioned permits to powerful names to set industries there, loosing their lives and earnings is not too far away.
But fighting the fishermen's battle each step of the way has been one man, Bharat Patel. An M. Phil in Rural Mangement, Bharat Patel came to a small settlement near Bhadreshwar in 2002 for his thesis. But he was so moved by the pathos of the fishermen families that he simply couldn't go away....
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09:46 AM, Feb 24, 2012
