Fish landing centre lies unused for 15yrs
The lone fish landing centre of Bangladesh Fisheries Development Corporation in Barishal has been lying unused for 15 years, leading to a loss of Tk 50 crore of revenue for the government.
Fish landing centers are locations where various kinds of fresh fishes and fishery products are stocked from various sources such as rivers, beel, gher, ponds, estuaries and the sea.
The Barishal FLC was built on 1.27 acres of land on the bank of Kirtankhola in 1991. Its operation began in 2007 and continued till 2009, generating around Tk 3 crore of revenue, said Lt Col Masud Sikder, manager of Barishal and Patharghata fish landing centres of BFDC.
The FLC includes 16 shelters, three auction sheds, ice production mill, office, and gangway alongside all necessary facilities. And yet, fish wholesalers and traders left this landing centre and moved to the city's Port Road over some demands in 2009.
Since then it has been left abandoned.
Locals alleged that the abandoned landing centre has turned into a haven for drug addicts.
Nirab Hossain Tutul, secretary of wholesale fish traders' association in Barishal, said, "Since 1971, wholesale fish traders have used the landing centre on Port Road on three acres of land. There are a total of 131 traders registered there. Compared to it, the BFDC's FLC lacked adequate space, as it could accommodate only 32 traders. If only 32 can trade there, what will happen to the rest."
"Also, it lacked parking space, bank services, workshops, and necessary business environment. Due to these reasons, the traders were compelled to leave it and return to Port Road," he added.
Visiting the Barishal FLC, this correspondent observed that the facilities and equipment of the centre, including the dormitories, offices, sheds, ice mill, deep tube wells, cold storage, car parking spaces are in a dilapidated state due to being abandoned for years.
In the absence of boundary walls, many are using fish sheds as garages for rickshaws and vans. The 16 shelters of the centre have been rented to tiles and sanitary product traders for Tk 2 lakh per month.
BFDC has kept two staffers there to look after the premises.
The BFDC has 19 landing stations across the country. A total of 23,102 tonnes of fish were landed at these FLCs last year, said Md Raju Ahmed, marketing manager of BFDC in Dhaka.
There are seven FLCs in Barishal division, of which five are operational while two in Barishal city and Parerhat of Pirojpur are lying unused.
Last year, a total of 5,295 tonnes of fish were landed at the five FLCs, generating a revenue of Tk 3.6 crore, according to BFDC's Dhaka office.
Patharghata FLC has the highest figure of 3,500 tonnes of fish landed there, generating about Tk 2 crore, said Masud Sikder.
"If the Barishal FLC could be reopened, the government will earn more revenue, while it will be possible to get the correct figure of fish landing. It will also generate employment among many people. Due to its closure, the government has so far lost around Tk 50 crore of revenue," he also said.
"We have written to the head office in this regard. They will make a decision soon," he added.
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