Fish from at least 367 ponds and enclosures have been swept away in Tangail in last week’s downpour, causing the farmers and local people to face losses amounting to around Tk9 crore.
Tangail District Fisheries Department has yet to come in with aid to the farmers, but officials told Dhaka Tribune that 318.85 tons of fish have been washed away in the recent rain.
It further gave a breakdown of the ponds suffering the losses of which 167 are from Sakhipur, 55 from Ghatail, 50 from Sadar upazila, 50 from Mirzapur, and 45 from Nagarpur.
An ill-fated farmer, Shaflu, said he had fish worth Tk40 lakh in his four ponds. After losing most of the fish during the past week’s rain, he now expects assistance from the government in repaying debts.
Yusuf Haider and Mantu Sikder, both hailing from Sakhipur Upazila, complained that the fisheries department has not assisted a single farmer.
Md Abul Kalam Azad, the district fisheries officer, said his office will prepare a list of affected farmers and send it to the higher authorities. The affected farmers will get assistance from his offices in taking bank loans as well, the official added.
