People manage livings by selling shrimp pollens in Debhata

Thousands of people of Satkhira, Debhata, Kaliganj, and Shamnagar have been leading their livelihoods by catching shrimp pollens from the river.

Those people are catching shrimp pollen into Ichamati River from their childhood.

“I have been catching pollens from my child hood,” Nur Ali, a fisherman of Debhata Sadar, told this correspondent, when contacted.

He also said that businessmen come to their fish hoard and have purchased pollens. The fishermen very often sold their perimeter to the businessmen.

“We don’t usually go away outside the area for selling pollens so that we can minimize cost,” he said, adding that every day they can manage Tk 500 to 700.

Everybody has made shanties on the bank of the river for conducting their work. Their housewife also involved in this business.

Sukumar Mondol, another fisherman of the area, said that this is the only earning source of his family.

“We are usually catching fish from dawn to evening every day,” he said adding that if we get government cooperation, we can do something else in our leisure period.

When contacted, Md. Badruzzaman, senior upazila fisheries officer of Debhata told Jagonews that the government has provided “Fishermen cards” to some 5,052 fishermen to catch fish into the river.

“Officially there is no financial aid system for them,” he added.

Ichamati River is a trans-boundary river which flows through India and Bangladesh.

(The article originally published in Bangla edition of Jagonews24.com is written in English by Zobaer Ahmed)