Biswajit Mondal, Voice 9, Dhaka Bureau: In order to safeguard the mother hilsa during
its primary breeding season, a ban has been imposed on hilsa fishing for a
period of 22 days. The ban, effective at midnight on Wednesday (October 11),
will continue until November 2.
During this period, fishing, transportation,
marketing, and storage of hilsa will be strictly prohibited. This ban will
result in over two hundred thousand fishermen becoming unemployed, leading to
scarcity and uncertainty for them.
However, as a means of rehabilitation during the ban, each fisherman will be provided with 25 kg of rice. The fishermen are requesting that the rice be distributed promptly, as scheduled. Despite their willingness to comply with the government's ban, the fishermen are concerned about how they will spend their days with their families.
Therefore, they urge the swift distribution of
the rehabilitation rice at the designated time. Karib Hossain, a fisherman from
the Elisha area, stated that he has brought his net boat ashore as fishing
activities have ceased. He emphasises the need for the government to promptly
distribute the rice allocated for fishermen during the ban. I
It has come to light that, although there are
165,000 registered fishermen in Bhola, rice has only been allocated to 133,899
fishermen. Consequently, many registered fishermen will not have the
opportunity to receive resettlement assistance, leaving them in debt. Fishermen
reveal that the lack of hilsa during this peak season has burdened many with
debt. T
They remain hopeful that the ban on Hilsa
fishing will be lifted soon. However, the Department of Fisheries assures that
stringent measures will be implemented to protect the mother hilsa.
Additionally, registered fishermen will receive 25 kg of rice to alleviate
their crisis.
District Fisheries Officer Molla Emdadulla affirms that successful implementation of the Hilsa campaign will lead to an increase in Hilsa production in the river. Therefore, extensive preparations have been made to ensure the campaign's success.
