Socio-Economic Condition Of The Fishermen Community Of Pumlen Lake: A Case Study In Tokpaching Village Of Thoubal District, Manipur

The paper is an attempt by the authors to highlight the socio-economic condition of the fishermen community of Tokpaching Village of Thoubal District of Manipur who fishes for their livelihood on the Pumlen Lake, the second largest fresh water wetland in the state of Manipur. The fisherman community belongs to low income community. The total of 50 families of the village was surveyed during the study. The findings reveal that total number of population of the village was 469 among them 63.53% (Literate) and 36.46% (Illiterate). Among the literate population 52.38% has primary level education, 30.95% has upper primary school level, 11.31% has high school level and only 3.57% of the fisherman possessed higher degrees. The peoples were employed in different sectors such as agriculture (26.29%), fishing (29.74%), business (17.67%), in-service (14.22%) and any other works (12.06%). 82.94% of the total population of the village lived in the katcha houses and remaining (17.05 %) in pukka houses. Income level was lowest (Rs. 500-1000 per month) among the age group of 10 – 20 and highest (2000- 8000 per month) among the age group of 40-50. The overall fish production of the Lake was 1652 kg per annum. Out of these, miscellaneous fish caught was the maximum i.e. 727 kg per annum (44.12%) while those of cat fishes were minimum i.e. 248 kg per annum (15.02%). Production of carp fish variety was the lowest while production of small fishes was the highest. The findings also reveal that the villagers were engaged in other occupational sector other than fishing due to reduction in fish production in the beels resulted by overexploitation, siltation, human activities etc. Key words: Socio-economic condition, fisherman community, Wetland, Livelihood,Tokpaching village, Pumlen Lake, Thoubal District of Manipur