During the two-month ban on fishing in March and April in the Padma and Meghna at Chandpur, a task force seized 60 boats from fishermen in its drives. The boats, worth an estimated nearly Tk 1 crore, are now lying idle and rotting. Fishermen will get their boats back only once cases and other legal processes are over.

On the morning of Monday, 6 May, the seized boats were seen lying neglected on both sides of the launch ghat on Madrasa Road in the town.

The fisheries department says the district task force carried out drives in the Chandpur sanctuary area for two months, from 1 March to 30 April, to boost hilsa production. Fishermen who came to fish illegally in the river were caught red-handed and the boats in their possession were seized. Over the two months, regular cases were filed against more than 300 fishermen who were detained, and mobile courts handed down jail terms and fines. Nets found with the fishermen were burned, and the Coast Guard and river police kept the boats as evidence in the cases.

Fishermen Ramjan Ali, Ishaq and Mohsin Mia from the Meghna coastal area of Chandpur town said: "We secretly defied the ban and went out on the river to fish. That is why we had to serve two months in jail. When we came out of jail we found our boats ruined. If the court orders it in a short time, we can take our boats. Some of the boats are now broken and unusable."

Md Kamruzzaman, officer-in-charge (OC) of Chandpur river police station, said this year's drive to protect jatka was very strict and successful. Many fishermen were detained and nets, jatka and boats were seized, with fishing boats seized in both the task force's and the river police's drives. Legal action has been taken on everything, and further legal steps on the seized boats will follow the court's directions, he said.

Chandpur Sadar Upazila Nirbahi Officer Sakhawat Jamil Saikat said work was under way on the lawful disposal of the boats seized in the past two months' fisheries drives. Some owners have got their boats back on the court's orders, and action on the rest is under way in line with government policy.

Chandpur District Fisheries Officer Md Golam Mehedi Hasan said the district task force seized 60 fishing boats in this year's two-month drive. The boats are now in the custody of the Coast Guard and river police. The district task force will sell them at auction within a set time with the help of the district administration, while owners can take back boats held by the river police after a court order.

Source: Jagonews24. First published in Bengali on The Agro News.