Page 99 - Changing Living Spaces

Living Spaces of Ethnic Groups and their Relationship with the Ecological Environment

ponds are less conspicuous than tree stands, making it more difficult to
observe such changes in the rural landscape. However, the permanence
of this conversion strongly suggests that villagers are becoming less in-
terested in agriculture.
The construction of fish ponds is not a new practice in the village.
When sons become independent from their parents and build a house in
new locations, the soil is usually taken from cultivated land and a pond
is built in the place where the excavation is made (Deka and Bhagabati
2015, 40). Such ponds are called Kal and have no levees. During floods
in the rainy season, wild fish from the surrounding waters can enter un-
hindered. Fish species caught in Kal include Puti (Puntius chola), Goroi
(Channa punctatus), Magur (Clarias magur) and Singi (heteropneustes fossi-
lis). These fish are used exclusively for household consumption and can-
not be monetized.
However, since the 2000s, ponds have been dug on cropland for var-
ious purposes. Some households have begun converting cultivated land
previously used for farming into ponds to raise fish for income. These
ponds are called Pukuri, and are separated from the surrounding eco-
logical environment on all sides by embankments 1 to 1.5 m high (Deka
and Bhagabati 2015, 40). Instead of collecting wild fish, Pukuris are used
for aquaculture by filling them with fish fry. The most commonly farmed
fish species include Rou (Labeo rohita), Mirika (Cirrhinus mrigala), Bakuwa
(Gibelion catla), and silver carp (Hypophthalmichthys molitrix). These fish
fetch high prices in the market, and some can sell for more than Rs 500
per kilogramme.
Croplands that are converted to fish ponds usually share some com-
mon characteristics. First, cultivated land is selected that is relatively low
lying. Some low-lying cultivated land is flooded during the rainy season,
making drainage difficult. Since such land is not suitable for rice cultiva-
tion, it is readily converted into fish ponds. In addition, land plots of a
certain size are usually selected for conversion into ponds. In some cases,
an entire plot of cultivated land is converted into a fish pond, and in oth-
ers, rice is grown on the remaining parts. For households that have sever-
al cultivated areas in the village, the areas near the residence are usually
selected for conversion into fish ponds. The reason is that the fish might
be stolen from the pond at night and the owners can monitor the theft of
fish ponds near their residence.
The conversion of cultivated land into fish ponds by agricultural house-
holds has economic reasons: fish farming requires less labour than rice

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