Environmental havoc by fishermen
100 cattle killed in 2 weeks as fishermen poison river waters for big catches in Patharghata
Our Correspondent, Barisal
A section of unscrupulous fishermen have started a havoc with the environment in coastal Patharghata area in Barguna district. They are poisoning fishes in rivers for quick big catches, thereby killing animals and birds also.Over 100 cows and buffaloes died after taking the poisonous water of canals and rivers in two weeks, 18 of them in the last two days, local people said. Patharghata police, when contacted over phone yesterday, corroborated the statement. SI Moshiur at the police station said police have been deployed on patrol duty at night in the area. Local people have also formed teams and are patrolling the areas by rotation, he said. But none could be arrested till yesterday. The matter was also discussed at the law and order committee meeting, held at Patharghata Upazila Parishad on December one with local lawmaker Nurul Islam Moni in the chair. The meeting expressed grave concern at the criminal act by a section of fishermen and asked local police to nab the culprits and take stern action against them. Char Laldia and Char Haringhata are two big pasturelands in the newly formed shoal areas, now under possession of the forest department. As per law, the forest department takes care of newly emerged shoals in the coastal areas for 15 years for afforestation. Thousands of cattleheads from nearby areas graze on the open grounds when the waters recede in the winter. The small rivers and canals abound with fishes at this time, that attracts a large number of fishermen, also from distant areas. The canals and rivers, also considered as sanctuaries for fishes and birds, flow into the Bay of Bengal. Local people said a section of fishermen close two ends of the canals and poison the water for big catches within a short time. They do the mischief mostly at night. As fishes surface due to poisoning, they haul up big catches quickly and decamp. Most of the culprits are from other areas, some local people claimed. Cattle, buffaloes and birds taking the poisonous water become sick and die. This is also polluting the environment and creating health hazard for local people who eat the poisoned fishes and use the water. Khokan Chaprashi of the area told this correspondent that a cattle taking the poisonous water is attacked with diarrhoea and dies within hours. He said eight cattle in his flock died in the last two days. The Patharghata Upazila Livestock Officer also said animal and birds taking the infected water show symptoms of diarrhoea and die. Upazila fishery office sources said they are trying to identify the criminals and nab them.
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