Mojibur Rahman Dulal, a resident of Rajshahi, inspects about a items of the prized ilish fish.
“I can not aquire a total ilish. That’s why I’ve sold five items for the five individuals of my household for Tk500,” Mojibur says.
A kilogramme would price Tk1,400 on moderate for the identical fish.
Amid the spiralling designate of ilish, merchants in Rajshahi started selling the fish in items following a resolution made by the Rajshahi Fish Merchants Coordination Council.
The switch – the first of its kind within the nation – turned into made to be sure of us from economically-deprived backgrounds might per chance per chance moreover revel within the delicacy, especially earlier than the Durga Puja celebrations.
The gross sales were considered within town’s Shaheb Bazar fish market from 11am this morning.
Customers were shopping one, three or five items. Leaders of the fish merchants council hoped that varied fish markets within the district would moreover enact the identical within the approaching days.
For customers love Dulal, this new knowing turned into a much shout from the heydays of the ilish market.
Afterall, Rajshahi turned into as soon as a hub for the fish, notion of the national fish of the nation.
When it rained silver
Until the Seventies, the abundance of ilish made it a commodity now not reserved for particular times fully.
The total markets of Rajshahi were fleshy of newly-captured ilish of all sizes from the Padma.
All americans might per chance per chance afford to revel within the delicacy on a frequent foundation.
This turned into, on the other hand, no longer the case as soon as the Farakka Dam turned into constructed on the upstream of Padma.
Since then, the provision of the fish has dwindled to almost zero.
Even for the length of the Pakistan length, ilish and its eggs veteran to whisk back and forth upstream from the Bay of Bengal via Rajshahi to Bhagalpur.
Actually, residents of Pabna moreover recall playing the fish in water our bodies connected to the Padma.
Wait on in Rajshahi, the abundance turned into enjoyed till spherical 1975.
Then slowly, the fish disappeared. As costs soared, the fish started to go from plates at some stage within the district.
Talking to The Replace Usual, marine educated Mahbub Siddiqui recalled the costs relief then.
“I sold four ilish weighing 100kg from Rajshahi market even sooner than 1960 for Tk1,” he acknowledged.
The provision turned into so high that Siddiqui remembers a reluctance to eat the fish because it turned into on the menu thrice a week.
At that time, ilish turned into sold and sold within the markets even within the far flung areas of the nation. Many veteran to it from village to village,” he acknowledged.
Rajshahi College Fisheries Department Professor Dr Yamin Hossain acknowledged as soon as ample Ilish turned into on hand in varied rivers of the nation.
The Padma’s ones were irregular owing to their orderly dimension and taste.
“Nevertheless the days of worthy ilish are gone. The current ones barely match up in taste. The Illish can smooth be visual display unit in rivers similar to Meghna, Jamuna, Surma and Kushiara nonetheless now not in Padma. Here’s due to Padma has misplaced its natural make. To bring Illish relief to the Padma, the drought or navigability of this river ought to be brought relief,” he acknowledged.
He moreover acknowledged a a part of the Padma river, the place mom ilish might per chance per chance also be found, is now in India. That’s why worthy Illish turned into no longer on hand.
Consultants maintain urged growing the depth of the Padma as a doubtless draw to revive the ilish fortune of the past.
Senior Upazila Fisheries Officer of Charghat Wali Ullah Mollah urged TBS, “I of direction had been right here for three years. At that time, essentially the most ilish had been caught this year, nonetheless they are rather puny.”
Wait on to the visual display unit
In Rajshahi’s Shaheb Bazar, there might per chance be smooth a approach to festivity.
For quite a lot of, it’s far a comeback on the menu for the fish after a long time.
Talking to TBS, Overall Secretary of Rajshahi Fish Merchants Coordination Council Sekandar Ali acknowledged, “If Illish is sold in items, all americans will seemingly be ready to eat it. That’s why we maintain taken this resolution after consulting the fisheries leaders.
“A total of five ilish maintain already been sold within a truly short time after the inauguration of the initiative,” Sekandar added.
At the market, the weight of the fish is moreover lessened by placing off the intestines. Merchants had been given the technique to duvet any loss on account of this via tweaking the costs.
Outlets, on the other hand, maintain brought up a ramification of complications they maintain confronted on account of selling by share.
“Though the weight of a fish gets diminished on account of removal of intestines, we are smooth getting costs based fully fully on their weight. Some customers are moreover now not attracted to shopping the tails or the heads of the fish. As a result, a ramification of quarrels maintain broken out,” acknowledged Md Abu, an ilish trader.
Bishu, one other ilish trader, echoed Md Abu.
In accordance with the market costs in Rajshahi, a 300-gram ilish is being sold at Tk600, a 500-gram ilish for Tk1,100, an 800-gram ilish for Tk1,500, and a 1-kilogram ilish for Tk1,600 per kilogramme.
