The administration has demolished a hilsa market on the bank of the Padma in Shibchar, Madaripur. The market at Kajirsura in the upazila's Bandarkhola union was torn down in a joint drive by the army, police and upazila administration on Friday (25 October) afternoon. Some 80,000 metres of net and 60 kg of hilsa were recovered.

According to the Shibchar upazila fisheries office, some unscrupulous fishermen have been catching hilsa in the Padma while evading the authorities and selling the fish on the riverbank itself, where a makeshift market had grown up.

Alongside the drives on the river, the army, police, fisheries office and the upazila assistant commissioner (land) ran a joint operation on Friday afternoon and demolished all the market's temporary structures. Sensing the arrival of the army and police, sellers and buyers quickly left.

The fisheries office said 37 drives were carried out on the Padma from 13 to 23 October, seizing 6,70,000 metres of banned current net. Forty fishermen were detained: 14 were jailed for various terms, 20 were fined Tk 1 lakh, and six minors were released on bonds. Thirteen trawlers were seized and 310 kg of hilsa recovered.

Upazila senior fisheries officer Ferdous Ibne Rahim said the drive on the makeshift market was carried out on Friday afternoon by the upazila administration, fisheries office, police and army, and the market was razed. Regular drives on the river are continuing.

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