If you pay a visit to Moulvibazar sadar upazila, you will find villages there have turned into a festive wonderland as this year’s edition of the locality’s 200-year old fish fair has kicked off at Sherpur, some 22 kilometers away from Moulvibazar town.
Unlike those typical fairs where products and craft items are the major attractions, this is an event fair where locals rush for the love of fish.
Every year, the three-day event starts on January 13, the day before Poush Sangkranti, on the Kushiyara riverbank in the upazila. And marking the end of the Bangla month, Poush, it concludes on the first day of Magh.
According to locals, in the past the fair used to be held in the upazila’s Monmukh area, where the Monu river meets the Kushiyara. Later, the venue was shifted to the Kushiyara riverbank some 80 years ago, with Monmukh being eroded over the years.
For people in the locality and beyond, it is a very special event as it provides them with an opportunity to sell and buy different varieties of fish, including those species currently on the brink of extinction.
In this year’s fair, around 50 fishermen and fish traders from all over the country have joined it with a wide variety of fish such as baghair, boal, kalibaus, tangra gulasa, chital, rui, salmon, koi and magur.
Local fish trader Manik Miah brought a baghair, weighing around 40kg, for which he demanded Tk65,000.
Though some traders were seen attending the event with small varieties of fish, big sized fish are always the main attractions.
Another trader from Sirajganj said he had earned Tk25 lakh by selling a haul of fish, netted in the Jamuna river, on the first day of the fair.
In addition to local buyers, foreign buyers were seen flocking to different stalls to buy fish.
Nasir Ahmed, the owner of a stall, said he had sold some baghair fish to a foreigner at Tk55,000.
This year, fish prices are much lower compared with the previous years, said Mujahid Khan, a buyer, adding that he bought two giant wallago attus, locally known as boal, for Tk40,000.
Fish apart, other items such as furniture, toys and different kinds of delicacies and homemade cakes are found there.
Oliur Rahman, president of the fair organizing committee, said the fair was expected to mobilize Tk10 crore to Tk12 crore in three days.
However, as a section of people become active operating small gambling sessions and “indecent” dance shows centring on the fair, Ashraful Alam Khan, additional deputy commissioner (revenues) in the district, said no such things would be allowed in the event.
Additional law enforcers have been deployed in and around the venue to prevent possible untoward situations and maintain peace and stability there, he added.
