FARIDPUR — An illegal hilsa market is operating twice a day on a char in the Padma River in Sadarpur upazila of Faridpur, even as a 22-day government ban on catching mother hilsa remains in force, local sources said.
The makeshift market is held every morning and evening at the Molla Kandighat area of Munshirchar in Dheukhali Union, with weak enforcement and poor surveillance allowing large quantities of mother hilsa to be smuggled out daily, residents said.
The market is run by two locally influential men identified as Akkas and Kuddus, according to local sources. Fishermen catch the fish during the ban and bring it to the market for sale, with the hilsa then smuggled to various parts of the district and even to the Kazirsura char area of Shibchar in neighboring Madaripur district.
Kuddus could not be reached for comment. A reporter posing as a buyer contacted Akkas by phone. Akkas said 10 to 20 kg of hilsa was available and that buyers had to come to Molla Kandi ghat. Asked about administrative action, he said: “The administration does not come to this area. There is no risk in taking fish from here.”
Several local residents, speaking on condition of anonymity, said such illegal markets had been operating during fishing bans for a long time. Hilsa is sold every morning and evening, with the fish smuggled by motorcycle and boat to different parts of the district, they said.
Mehedi Hasan, the Sadarpur upazila fisheries officer, said his office faced manpower shortages and lacked the boats needed for raids. “The area is highly risky, so effective operations are not possible without the help of the administration,” he said. “We are preparing to conduct operations soon with the support of the administration.”
বাংলায় মূল প্রতিবেদন পড়ুন · Read the original Bengali report