A fishermen's cooperative in Madhyanagar upazila of Sunamganj has accused a local BNP leader of trying to seize part of a government water body it holds on lease. Hamidpur Bandhan Matsyajibi Samabay Samiti Limited, the lessee of the second section of the Ghasi river, sent the complaint by e-mail to the upazila nirbahi officer (UNO) on Friday, 18 September.

The cooperative's general secretary, Tajul Islam, lodged the complaint himself against Senoar Hossain, a member of the upazila BNP convening committee. It asks the administration to act to protect the fish stock and the cooperative's financial interest.

According to the complaint, the cooperative leased the second section of the Ghasi river for three years, from the Bangla years 1431 to 1433, under the government's rules, and has been paying the lease revenue regularly. Despite that, it says, attempts to occupy a part of the river have been going on for some time.

The complaint states that on 15 September, at about 11 in the morning, Senoar Hossain entered the leased stretch with 50 to 60 people from his own village, Mirzapur, and carried away fish caught with net jal and China duari nets. Tajul Islam says the incident has put the cooperative's cultured fish and the water body's other fish stock at risk, and puts the likely loss at around Tk 5 lakh on a first estimate.

Md. Senoar Hossain denies the allegation. He says the stretch in question lies outside the lease and has been in the use and possession of the local Mirzapur Jame Mosque, and that he is being framed with a false complaint for speaking on the mosque's behalf.

In the haor belt, the income of fishing cooperatives that take government water bodies on lease and stock them depends on the lease boundary being respected. When fish are lifted from a leased water body with banned gear such as the China duari net, the cooperative's investment is at risk and so is the stock itself. Local fishermen are now watching what action the administration takes.

Based on a report by Samakal's Dharmapasha (Sunamganj) correspondent.

Source: Samakal