Smuggling on the rise in Sunamganj haors

Smuggling is on the rise on the wake of the flash floods that wrought havoc in the Sunamganj haor region. Border Guard Bangladesh reports regular cattle smuggling, with locals who have failed to avail themselves of post-flood relief or employment now engaged with syndicates in the illicit cross-border trade.

“After the flood I didn't find a job,” says a farmer from Anandanagor village in the Tanguar Haor area of Tahirpur upazila, who doesn't wish to give his name. “Labour is now very cheap in this area and it's really difficult to maintain my seven-member family even when labouring work is available. Income from smuggling is very good. I thought a lot about it before I decided to engage in smuggling; ultimately it's a question of food for my family.”

According to the farmer the border areas of Sunamganj are particularly suitable for smuggling due to the several cross-border rivers. Other locals and border guards likewise identify the border areas of Taherpur and Sunamganj sadar upazilas as relatively 'safe zones' for smugglers, who are taking advantage of the disruption caused by the floods.

On 2 June 2017 alone Border Guard Bangladesh seized five smuggled cattle worth around Tk 1.5 lakhs from the Lawergor frontier while 15 cattle valued at around Tk 4.5 lakhs were seized in the Ambari borderlands.

“We have seized smuggled goods, especially cattle, worth around half a crore taka in the last month,” says BGB commanding officer Lt Col Nasir Uddin Ahmed. “We are doing our best to prevent smuggling and have been conducting special raids in recent days; but because of paddy losses in the recent floods smuggling has added appeal for many locals.”

“Flood victims have not received proper relief assistance,” says Bindu Talukdar, member secretary of a local community association. “They've lost faith in that process. They see smuggling as a way to survive. Irregularities in the distribution of relief assistance should be addressed to reduce the smuggling.”

Tahirpur upazila's chairman Kamruzzaman Kamrul similarly points to the unprecedented crop losses as a driver of increased smuggling. “Most farmers depend on their Boro harvest as the single biggest annual harvest,” he says. “For many families, Boro paddy proceeds cover their living expenses for the whole year. With that crop destroyed by natural calamity this year, many families are in economic crisis.” He also notes relief distribution anomalies arising from corruption and nepotism are exacerbating the smuggling problem.

According to the district administration, Boro paddy was planted on more than 2 lakh hectares  of land across the district's 154 haor areas, with over 1.66 lakh hectares damaged in the floods, affecting around 3.25 lakh families. But the government VGF relief programme allots Tk 500 and 30 kilograms of rice per month to only 1.68 lakh affected families.