Chandpur depends on Hatiya's hilsa as catches of this delicious fish are still meagre in the Padma in Chandpur belt.
According to fish merchants Manik Jamader, Nurul Islam Bokaul, Mostafa Dedar and Chidu Gazi at Chandpur Rly Boro Station Fish Landing Ghat, this year they are passing through a bad time for want of adequate supply of hilsa from the Padma river. This year, on average, 40/50 maunds of hilsa are available daily in this river, 'which is too meager and disappointing for the traders.
That's why the hilsa traders at this biggest 'Fish Landing Ghat' and hilsa lovers in the district have to depend on the hilsa from Hatiya district and its adjacent areas for trading.
However, on Tuesday, about 1.5 thousand maunds of hilsa were brought to this fish port from Hatiya district. But this quantity of hilsa is too small at this busy and bustling ghat as now is the peak time for abundant supply of hilsa here.
Fish trader Nurul Islam Bokaul said, "Most of the hilsas are of 500, 600 and 700 grams".
Some fishing boats of the Padma river also brought hilsa from different areas of Chandpur Sadar and Haimchar.
Chandpur Fish Merchants' Samity President Manik Jamader has confirmed that the traders here have to depend on the hilsa of Hatiya and some areas in Noakhali districts as hilsas are too meagre in the Padma and Meghna rivers this year.
A one-kg Padma hilsa is seeking at Tk 1300 in kitchen markets while a one kg Hatiya's hilsa sells at Tk 1000. Many dishonest traders sell Hatiya'shilsa telling the customers that these are from the Padma river. Thus the hilsa fish lovers are often cheated, it is alleged.
There are about 150 active hilsa fish traders and about three to four hundred day-labourers in this fish ghat.
“Due to theless supply of hilsha fish,the day-labourers have to sit idle most of the time”, said Afzal Hossain (who works here for 30 years) and Abul Kalam (works here for 3 years).
However, when asked about the reason for the poor supply of hilsa, a few fish traders are blaming the emergence of river shoals here and there in the riverbeds. For this reason, hilsas are meagre, they say.
