A legal notice has been sent to the relevant government officials asking them to take the necessary steps to stop hilsa exports to India.
Supreme Court lawyer Md Mahmudul Hasan sent the notice on Sunday, 22 September. The respondents are the commerce secretary, the fisheries and livestock secretary, the chairman of the National Board of Revenue and the Chief Controller of Imports and Exports.
The notice asks them to take the necessary steps to stop hilsa exports to India within three days of receiving it. Otherwise, the lawyer said, a writ petition would be filed with the High Court.
The lawyer's arguments
Md Mahmudul Hasan said hilsa is a sea fish found in Bangladesh, India, Myanmar and other countries around the world. When it comes from the sea into Bangladesh's Padma river, it becomes extremely tasty. Neighbouring India has a vast maritime boundary and hilsa are produced widely in Indian waters, so on that basis India has no need to import hilsa from Bangladesh. But India mainly imports Padma hilsa from Bangladesh. Indian agents and fish exporters in Bangladesh stockpile Padma hilsa all year and export it to India with the government's permission, and in some cases smuggle it across the border. Because of exports and smuggling to India, people in Bangladesh cannot find Padma hilsa in the market.
He added that the limited quantity of hilsa found in the Padma is not enough to meet the demand of Bangladesh's people. If it goes to India, Bangladeshis will not be able to eat Padma hilsa. It is not proper for the Bangladesh government to deprive its own people in order to feed Padma hilsa to India's people. It is true that various essentials are imported from India, but the Indian government never exports any product to Bangladesh without first meeting its own people's demand.
"Under Bangladesh's Export Policy 2021-24, hilsa is not a freely exportable fish. In this situation, by permitting hilsa exports to India, the Commerce Ministry has acted against the interests of the people of Bangladesh," he said.
Source: Jagonews24. First published in Bengali on The Agro News.
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