Hundreds of fishermen are passing through hard times due to a sharp decline in the fish population in the Mehgna and Tetulia rivers and in the Bay of Bengal.

A recent visit to different fish ghats along the Meghna river bank in Bhola revealed that fish-trading centres are totally inoperative and workers are without work. Local fishermen are passing their time playing cards and gossiping.

As a result, fishermen and their families were passing through a difficult time.

Some fishermen alleged that they were being deprived of allowances and rice allocated by the government for poor fishermen. Most of the cards issued by the food ministry for distribution among fishermen are being taken by non-fishermen.

Nur Jahan,45, wife of fisherman Shajan Majhi of Rajapur, told this correspondent that her husband was the only the earning member of the family.

But he had gone to Dhaka about a month ago, as he failed to repay in time a loan of Tk. 50,000 taken from a local money-lender due to an acute shortage of fish in the Meghna over the past four months.

Nurul Islam, president of the Bhola Zila Central Khudro Motshajibi Samity, said that only 80,000 fishermen, out of 1.5 fishermen, had been given cards in Bhola district.

Fish trader Ala Uddin and Abu Taher told this correspondent that they invested lakhs of taka and given huge sums of money to fishermen to prepare nets and boats for fishing four months ago, but the fishermen were refusing to go fishing in the river.

When contacted, Rejaul Karim, the district fisheries officer of Bhola, said that now was the real time to catch hilsa and other types of fish in the Meghna and in the Bay of Bengal, as the monsoon has started and waters were rising in the rivers.