Waste of Tk 13 crore

The government has constructed a fish-landing station at a cost of Tk 13 crore in Mohipur area of Patuakhali's ​​Kalapara upazila, but it has not been operational even after a year of its inauguration.

Local traders said this was due to lack of space at the landing station as per the demand and lack of coordination between the Bangladesh Fishery Development Corporation (BFDC) and local fish traders. As a result, the government is deprived of at least Tk 5 crore of revenue annually.

BFDC took the initiative to construct two fish-landing stations in Alipur and Mohipur in 2012 for harvesting, preserving, processing and marketing fish in an efficient manner. But it took four years to acquire the land for the Mohipur station. In 2016, BFDC finally started  construction of the Mohipur fish-landing station at a cost of Tk 13 crore on 1.10 acres of land.

A platform and gangway for unloading fish from trawlers, auction area of ​​1,000 square feet, packaging set, storage room, ice mill, generator room, office building, a truck stand of 7,000 square feet for transporting fish with sewage facilities have been constructed here.

On September 20, 2021, Fisheries and Livestock Minister SM Rezaul Karim inaugurated the two fish landing centres. However, while the Alipur station is bustling with fishermen and wholesalers, the Mohipur station is still quiet.

There are 82 registered traders in Mohipur, even though the fish landing station has a capacity to host 40 traders. In addition, the pontoons at the station are suitable for accommodating 20 trawlers,  but there are over 2,000 registered trawlers in Mohipur.

Apart from this, there are 200 wholesalers and 800 workers  listed for the station. So, fish traders have unanimously decided to not go to the Mohipur station and demanded the authorities to increase the capacity of the place.

Owner of a Mohipur warehouse, Monir Hossain, said, "The station was constructed for the convenience of our traders, but now it is of no use. The main reason for this is that it was not built as planned. There are hundreds of registered and unregistered traders in Mohipur; but the landing station has a capacity of only 40 people. I will leave the business if necessary. Even then I will not go there."

Echoing similar sentiments, Raju Ahmed Raja, general secretary of Mohipur Fishery Owners' Association, said, "If they (BFDC) had consulted us before building it, this problem would not have happened. We will all go to the landing station once its capacity is increased."

Acting manager of Mahipur BFDC Shakil Ahmed said, "Mohipur centre could not be made  operational even in a year, as traders don't want to come here. We have limited space, but there is room to expand. BFDC authorities have taken various steps for this. The government has been deprived of at least Tk 5 crore of revenue annually due to stubbornness of fish traders."

President of Kuakata and Alipur Fishery Cooperative Samitee Ansar Uddin Molla said, "Once the landing centre becomes operational, all  trawler owners, fishermen, traders, and wholesalers of Mohipur can  be brought under one roof. This will greatly reduce the suffering and problems of the fisheries sector."