DHAKA, Sept 23, 2019 (BSS) – State Minister for Fisheries and Livestock
Ashraf Ali Khan Khasru said the genuine fishermen should be united to ensure
their rights for getting the lease of haor.
“The government wants to lease out haors to genuine fishermen, but a
section of investors manage to take lease of the hoars due to incongruity
among real fishermen…fishermen organisations are compelled to give sub-
lease of the haors to financiers and the practice should be stopped,” he
said.
He said this while speaking as the chief guest at a roundtable titled
‘Haor Leasing System and Fisheries Management’ at the National Press Club
today.
Poribesh Bachao Andolon (Poba) and Bangladesh Resource Centre for
Indigenous Knowledge (BARCIK) jointly organised the programme with Poba
Chairman Abu Naser Khan in the chair.
A total of 48,000 tonnes of rice were provided to the fishermen when
fishing was banned in sea for 65 days this year, Khasru added.
Lack of good governance and improper management of fisheries in the Haor
areas are affecting the fishermen while excessive fishing, use of
insecticides and poison are ruining the eco-system gravely, they said.
Director of the Department of Fisheries (DoF) Kazi Shams Afroz, former
lawmaker Chobi Biswas, former director of BWTC Monoar Hossain, Advocate
Subrata Das and former general secretary of Dhaka Union of Journalists (DUJ)
Kuddus Afrad, among others, were present at the event.