Lalmohan fishers passing days in hardship

LALMOHAN, BHOLA, Mar 29: The two-month (March 1-April 30) fishing ban is going in about 40 kilometres (km) of the Meghna-Tentulia rivers in Lalmohan Upazila of the district, causing living hardship to fishermen.

According to fishing village sources, fishers have turned income-less, and they are taking loan to maintain their families.
At present, some fishers are passing idle time and others are repairing their nets or making new ones.
Their fishing boats are lying anchored along different fishing ghats.

According to sources at the Upazila Fisheries Office, the number of registered fishermen in the upazila is 24,806; but the exact number is at least 30,000; they all live on fishing; they go to fishing from 27 small-large fishing ghats in the upazila.

Fisher Md Mahiuddin Maji at the Batirkhal Fishing Ghat at Dholigouranagar Union said, "Even before the ban, we didn get much fish in rivers. So we counted losses. Now the ban is running. We can catch fishes. We have been indebted hugely. Our families are running on loan. I am running my family- my wife, two sons and one daughter, in hardship."

Fisher Aman Ullah Hawladar at that Ghat said, "We can cook rice with the government rice, but we have to take loan for purchasing other kitchen items. So we demand increasing the rice allocation. If not, we can continue for fishing profession."

Fisher Md Delwar Hossain at the Batirkhal Fishing Ghat said, "We are abiding by the government fishing ban. But we have turned workless. We are under mental pressure from NGOs. NGOs representatives are coming to houses of fishers for instalments. But we can give instalments. That is why we demand of the authorities for stopping instalment during the ban."

Lalmohan Upazila Sea Fisheries Officer Tanvir Ahmed said, the ban has been imposed for making increase in fish production; and to implement the ban, the Upazila Fisheries Department is highly active.

Due to accumulated slit in the rivers and changed weather, fishes are not arriving in time, he added.

He further said, that is why fishers are not getting expected fish. But after the ban on the reserved zones, they will get adequate fishes, he said.

"The rice allocation is inadequate. After talking with the authorities, we are trying to increase the rice allocation," he added.

"At the same time, we will talk with NGOs so that they keep loan instalments suspended during the ban period," he maintained.