Farmers' form human chain : Fish worth Tk 5 cr looted for not paying Tk 50 lakh ransom
Sonagazi (Feni) Correspondent
Terrorists looted fish from the fish farms by cutting the dam of the project after failing to collect the demanded Tk 50 lakh from the farmers of the Charkhondkar and Char Ramnarayan Mouza fisheries projects in Sonagazi Upazila of Feni. On Sunday afternoon.
The affected farmers and owners of the fisheries project formed a human chain in front of the Feni District Administration Office and submitted a memorandum to the Superintendent of Police.
Farmer Momin Hossain, who was a victim of the human chain held by Sonagazi's Dakshin Charkhandaker Fisheries Project Owners Association President Sheikh Russell, said that the terrorists have been demanding a ransom of Tk 50 lakh for the past 15 days. When they refused to pay the ransom, they took the employees and guards of the fisheries project hostage at gunpoint and looted Tk 5 crore worth of fish from the project cultivated on 70 acres of land. At that time, they cut the bank of the project with an excavator and released the fish into the river and the neighboring farms. This caused a loss of more than crores of fish to the farmers. While looting the said fisheries project and breaking the dam and escaping, local people arrested the excavator driver Apu and his associate Sohel and handed them over to the Sonagazi Model Police Station. The police filed a case against them under Section 154 and sent them to court.
Sheikh Russell, president of the Fisheries Project Owners Association, said, "We filed four separate complaints at the Sonagazi Model Police Station seeking justice. The police station did not take our complaints into consideration, but instead pressured the farmers to resolve the matter through an arbitration meeting, mistreated them, and threatened them not to escalate the matter."
The farmers who formed the human chain said that in the terrible floods of 2024, all the fish from the farms of 45 farmers in the southern Anjal area of Sonagazi were washed away by the flood waters. We farmers suffered losses worth hundreds of crores of taka. Despite the extreme financial crisis, this year we started fish farming again by borrowing from bank loans and well-wishers. Since August 5 last year, we have been facing various dangers, including demands for extortion, threats, and attempts to seize our land by force. Despite all this, we farmers are constantly working to enrich the country's fish resources and keep the wheels of the country's economy moving, risking our lives. We are also providing employment to hundreds of people. At this time, they want all kinds of security from the administration to expand the fishing industry.
They said that in collusion with the administration, some identified land robbers, seasonal politicians, and fascist government agents from the southern region of Sonagazi illegally seized land in several projects.
Police Superintendent Md. Habibur Rahman said, "I have received a memorandum regarding these incidents. All legal measures will be taken with the help of the district administration, police administration and local people to maintain law and order to sustain the fishing industry."
