1.17 lakh fishermen in Barishal div yet to receive food aid as hilsha ban ends

Yusuf Bepari, a fisherman of Bhelumia Union in Bhola, who registered under the fisheries department to get food assistance from the government during the annual ban on hilsha fishing, said he is yet to receive the aid as the 22-day ban was lifted on 2 November.

"If the government paid the expenses of the fishermen properly for 22 days, not a single fisherman would have gone to the river [for fishing]. But the government does not do that. It enforces a ban and asks fishermen to stay at home," he said.

Fisherman Rubel of Rahamatpur Union under Babuganj Upazila of Barishal, who was not among the enlisted fishermen, told this correspondent that he had no choice but to go fishing disregarding the campaign for survival.

As per data provided by Mohammad Nasir Uddin, assistant director of the Directorate of Fisheries, Barishal division, even though the ban has ended, 1,17,168 fishermen in the division have not yet received food assistance.

He said that the total number of registered fishermen in Barishal division is 4,25,009. Of them, 3,82,071 fishermen depend only on hilsa fishing to earn their livelihood. During the ban this year, 3,78,041 fishermen received 25 kg of rice each under the support programme.

During the ban, the mobile court handed jail sentences to 808 fishermen in Barishal division. The number of convicted fishermen is 486 in Barishal district, 226 in Bhola district, 71 in Patuakhali, 19 in Jhalakathi, 5 in Projpur and one in Barguna, as per the directorate.

Mostofa Rari, chairman of Khajuria Union in Mehendiganj Upazila of Barishal, said that although there are 1,400 registered fishermen in his Union, he got the rice allocation for 1,150.

"Due to lack of adequate support, many fishermen are forced to go fishing in secret [defying the ban]," he added.

Prof Gazi Jahid Hossain, president of the Barishal chapter of the Sachetan Nagorik Committee, said, "Fishermen can be barred from going to the river only after ensuring adequate assistance from the government during the annual hilsa conservation campaign."

Nripendra Nath Biswas, deputy director of the Directorate of Fisheries, Barishal division, said that the campaign was successful in all districts of Barishal, except Bhola and Barishal. Some fishermen could not be prevented from going to the river in the two districts.