Rise in fuel prices also taking a toll on hilsa
Sun, Jul 18 2021 10:16:34 AM
By Saibal Gupta
Kolkata, Jul 18 (IANS): The spiralling prices of petrol and diesel in the last one year is not only taking the famous hilsa fish out of the reach of the middle-class Bengalis, but it is also having a far-reaching effect on the population of this silver queen of the river . The steep hike in the fuel cost is inhibiting fishermen from going into the deep sea and they are forced to catch the smaller juvenile hilsa that stay in the shallow water near the coastline, endangering the species altogether.
Representative image
KOLKATA: The ceaseless spike in fuel prices isn’t just burning holes in pockets – it has also stalled the engine of hilsa growth in the Bay of Bengal. As fishermen skimp on fuel and cast fine nets in shallow waters along the coastline instead of venturing deep into the sea, more juvenile hilsa are getting caught than the full-grown ones that are prized for their taste.
While hilsa fish live in saline waters, they migrate to rivers to lay eggs before returning to the sea. Shoals of young hilsa making their way back to the sea are now getting caught in the fine nets laid close to the shoreline. Catching hilsa under 500gm was banned in India, Bangladesh and Myanmar nearly three decades ago to protect the fast depleting fish population. Bangladesh has been successful in enforcing the ban and reviving the hilsa population in its waters, but India and Myanmar have had moderate success.
Such rampant fishing of juveniles has already spelt doom for the hilsa population and catch of larger fish has reduced dramatically
KOLKATA: The steep hike in fuel prices is taking a toll on hilsa health in the Indian waters of the Bay of Bengal as fishermen cast their nets in shallow waters along the coastline instead of venturing deep into the sea for the catch. They are also using finer nets that trap the juvenile hilsa instead of the larger nets that allow the small ones to escape.
Hilsa, a sea fish, moves into rivers to lay eggs before returning to the sea. Shoals of young hilsa, too, make their way back to the sea. It is during this return journey that the younger ones are getting caught in fine nets laid close to the shore line.
Abducted teenage girl rescued in Jashore; 2 arrested Star Digital Report Star Digital Report
Police have rescued a teenage girl today seven days after her abduction from Sharsha upazila of Jashore.
The teenager, identified as Purnima Das (13), was abducted from her house by one Akbar Hossain (32) and his wife Ruma Khatun (25).
Police arrested Akbar and Rumi in this connection, reports our Benapole correspondent quoting Badrul Alam, officer-in-charge of Sharsha police station.
According to case document, Akbar and Rumi went to the house of Purnima as they were known to her family members. As Purnima s father Robin Das and her mother were not at home, Akbar and his wife Rumi took the girl away and fled from the house. Her father filed an abduction case with Sharsha police facility, stated the case document.
Express News Service
You saw him as Inspector Chougale in Black Friday, JD in Fool n Final, Sajid Don in Ajab Prem Ki Ghazab Kahani, Prakash Rao in Singham Returns, Patil in Badlapur and most recently as Giriraj Shastry in SonyLIV web series, Sandwiched Forever. In all these characters, though each is different from the other, actor Zakir Hussain always leaves an impact on the audience.
“My character Shastry is a plant scientist, a very simple man who is totally involved with the flora, so much so that he even has names for them like Faiz, D’Costa, etc. But while Shastry is in love with plants, he is always at loggerheads with his wife,” says Hussain, about his ongoing series. The role was not difficult because “we Indians have a special relationship with plants”.