Upazila fisheries office officials were forced to retreat in the face of hostility from fishermen during a drive on the Padma river in Shibchar, Madaripur.

When fishermen and local people advanced to attack them, the fisheries office team quickly left the spot.

The incident happened at around 5pm on Friday (1 November) at a place called Hirakhar Bazar in the Char Janajat area of Shibchar on the Padma.

Sources said the upazila fisheries office went on the drive to the Char Janajat area on Friday afternoon as part of regular operations to protect mother hilsa.

Molla Emdadullah, project director of the Department of Fisheries' Hilsa Resource Development and Management Project, was present on the drive along with fisheries office officials and staff. When the team reached the riverbank at Hirakhar Bazar, fishermen and other locals came forward to attack them. Seeing the situation turn dangerous, the fisheries officials and the team members quickly moved away.

Shibchar upazila senior fisheries officer Ferdous Ibne Rahim said fishermen and locals advanced to attack when the team went to the Hirakhar Bazar area as part of the regular drive on the Padma. "We quickly moved to a safe place," he said. Two teams of the Coast Guard and river police are now on the river, he added.

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