Flood inflicts Tk290cr loss on Chattogram fisheries sector

Numerous fish farming ponds in Chattogram have been washed away due to continuous rainfall and an onrush of water from upstream in India, inflicting Tk 290m crore losses on the fisheries sector.

District fisheries officer Shribas Chandra Chand said the extent of the damage might increase further. The flood has severely impacted fish farmers and those involved in the sector.

"Due to continuous rain, fish farming ponds and hatcheries in various upazilas including Mirsharai, Fatikchhari, Hathazari, Raozan and Sitakunda have been washed away. In Chattogram, 16,864 fish farming ponds across 5,541 hectares have been affected, resulting in the loss of 16,595 tonnes of fish. Additionally, 1.4 million fish fry and 200,000 shrimp fry have been washed away. There has also been infrastructural damage amounting to Tk24.7 lakh," the officer told the media.

"The flood has washed away the Muhuri Project (irrigation project) in Mirsharai; more than half of Chattogram’s fish demand is met by this project. The floodwaters have washed away the fish from 6,000 acres of water bodies under this project. Moreover, large carp fish from the Halda River have dispersed into various water bodies."

The Muhuri Project in Mirsharai is known as the largest fisheries project in the country.

A farmer from Ichakhali union, Kamruzzaman Dulal, said: "Around 3,500 people are involved in fish farming here. The flood has washed away all the fish. I had a fish farming project on 107 acres with an investment of Tk11 crore. I have lost everything I had to the flood. There are also farmers here with fish farming projects on 200 to 300 acres."

According to sources at the district fisheries office, in Mirsharai alone, the fisheries sector has incurred a loss of approximately Tk142 crore. After Mirsharai, Fatikchhari Upazila has faced the highest losses. Most ponds and fish projects in the unions of this upazila have been washed away by the floodwaters, with losses amounting to around Tk30.1 crore.

The situation is the same in Hathazari upazila, where fish worth Tk12 crore have been washed away by the floodwaters.

The fisheries sector in other upazilas has also suffered significant losses due to the flooding.

Fatikchhari Upazila Nirbahi Officer (UNO) Md Mozammel Haque Chowdhury said, "In the Nazirhat area of Fatikchhari, floodwaters are entering the locality after the Halda River embankment broke. Additionally, water is overflowing from canals and flooding the localities in various places."