Fish threatened at Chalan Beel

Backed by influential people, fish traders have illegally set up nets and bamboo enclosures to catch fish in one of the country's big sources of fish at Chalan Beel in Chatmohar upazila, disrupting the flow of water.

 During a visit to Handial, Dharmagasa, Chaikola, Char-Nabin, Somaj and Mirzapur villages in the upazila, this correspondent found 20 big fishing projects in the water body using fishing nets and bamboo enclosures for catching fish that threatened increase in fish production.

Bamboo enclosures and nets have been set up illegally on a total of 25 acres of the beel in Dharmagasa bridge point.

“Fish trader Motaleb Miah established this project with permission from the local fishery office. We are expecting to catch at least 300 maunds of fish from this point by December, as production of fish has increased in Chalan Beel after the flood,” Md Nazim Uddin, manager cum caretaker of the project, said.

“More than 20 big fishing projects have been set up illegally with nets and bamboo enclosures, hindering flow of water,” said Md Mizanur Rahman, coordinator of Save Chalan Beel movement.

“Around 313 square-kilometre area of the beel in Chatmohar region has been occupied by influential people due to lack of administrative monitoring,” Mizanur added.

Upazila Fishery Officer Md Mahbubur Rahman, however, rejected the allegation of poor monitoring, saying that drives are continuing to remove the illegal structures from the water body.

Asked about the permission for a fishing project in the water body, he said only genuine fishermen of the area are permitted to catch fish from 15 points (jalkar) of the beel, without halting the flow of water.

When asked about Motaleb Miah's fishing project, he said a mobile court raided the place a few weeks ago and removed the structures, but the fish trader rebuilt them.