Kasadi river was once a fishing haven, boasting of 45 varieties of fish, but in 2013 it was declared 'unsuitable for fishing'. Pics/Datta Kumbhar

The narrow, winding lanes, that open into the homes of the Koli villagers of Roadpali, in the Kalamboli area of Navi Mumbai, once served as a monsoon pathway for the nearby Kasadi river. The elderly locals remember how, during high tide, the river would bend and flow aimlessly by the side of their homes, and wash into the open farmlands of their neighbours, the Agri community, whose primary source of livelihood was farming. "During this season, even they would fish with us," says 30-year-old Yogesh Pagade, recounting this scene from his early childhood. The first heavy showers, he says, would bring with it a shoal of catfish — locally called chivanna — into the fields of the Agris, who didn't spare the opportunity for a good catch. That's the one time in the year when every inch of Roadpali turned into a fishing haven.