Fish poisoned in Naogaon pond

A large quantity of fish has been killed after poison was applied to a pond in Atrai upazila of Naogaon. Fish worth several lakh taka died and floated to the surface.

Locals discovered the dead fish early on Wednesday, December 3, in the pond at Singsara village. According to initial information, miscreants poisoned the pond sometime late Tuesday night.

The 14-bigha pond was overseen by caretaker Ashraful Alam Mithu.

He said the pond is privately owned and there is no dispute related to it. The owner has no personal conflict with anyone either. “Even then, someone poisoned the pond. The poison was applied sometime during the night. At dawn, I saw fish floating dead,” he said.

The pond was established by Dewan Mohsin Ali of Singsara village, who developed a fish hatchery there. He produced fish fry and ran commercial fish farming. His hatchery even won the National Fisheries Award in 2009 for its contribution to high-quality fry production. It is currently managed by his son, Dr Dewan Mehedi Hasan.

Dr Mehedi Hasan said the poisoning caused losses of around Tk 24–25 lakh. He has not yet been able to identify who is responsible.

Locals said many members of Mehedi’s family were killed by Pakistani forces during the 1971 genocide. Anti-liberation elements and collaborators had longstanding resentment toward the family, and they believe such groups poisoned the pond amid the current national situation.

Atrai Police Station Inspector (Investigation) Kawsar Alam said they have not yet received any written or verbal complaint. “If the affected family files a complaint, legal action will be taken,” he said.