According to the traders, almost every day they are suffering losses due to long delays on the way, allegedly caused by a section of porters and Bangladesh Railway (BR) employees. The train that is scheduled to arrive in Sylhet at 9:20 am, is regularly delayed by eight to 10 hours.

During peak season more than 63,000 kilograms of hilsa is sent to greater Sylhet region from Chandpur everyday. From Chandpur the train with two extra vans loaded with hilsa leaves for Lakhsam junction at 5-30 pm everyday and arrives in Lakhsham at 11:40 pm. The problem starts with the connecting Jalalabad Express from Chittagong that tows the extra hilsa vans from Chandpur to Sylhet. The Jalalabad Express is 'forcibly delayed' at every stop to facilitate a section of black marketeers and unscrupulous traders, traders alleged. BR sources in Sylhet said that within the last 10 years Jalalabad Express has never made it to its destination on schedule due to the presence of these 'gangs'.

'Musclemen in connivance with BR officials at different stations on the way control the schedule of each train, these gangs decide when to allow the train leave stations," said a retired BR official requesting anonymity.

Traders in Chandpur also said the regular delay in train schedules deprives the people of the greater Sylhet of fresh fish as the hilsa start rotting in the summer heat.

Babul Chokdar, joint secretary of the 210-member fish traders association in Chandpur said that demand for hilsa in Sylhet region is high and bulk of the supply to the region goes from Chandpur. He said since the wholesale market of hilsa fish in Chandpur is situated on BR property, the BR authorities do not allow the traders to opt for other means of transport.

'The BR does not allow any trucks or vehicles to enter its premises, so we are forced to use BR to transport our goods,' Chokdar said.

He said traditionally hilsa from Chandpur is always transported by train and all hilsa wholesale markets in Sylhet region are situated along the railway stations. But rapid deterioration in BR services has put the future of hilsa trade in jeopardy.

BR's Assistant Chief Operative Superintendent, Firoz Iftekhar said that after complaints from traders they have strengthened monitoring of train schedules. The pressure on Jalalabad Express increased manifold after a local train service from Chittagong to Sylhet was suspended recently, he added.

'We are trying to reintroduce the local train service from Chittagong to Sylhet to relieve pressure on Jalalabad Express,' he said.