Shrimp industry being ruined for toll

Many shrimp farm owners are thinking to wind up business due to sharp rise in incidents of bomb attack, death threat and poisoning of shrimps for refusing toll, said Chand Farazi, chairman of Lockpur Fish and Executive Committee member of Khulna Chamber of Commerce and Industry.

Some have shifted heir offices and families to Dhaka following death threats. A prominent shrimp exporter who has two processing factories in Khulna and Bagerhat has shifted his office to Dhaka, he told this correspondent on Sunday.

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Sources in Khulna unit of Bangladesh Frozen Food Exporters Association (BFFEA), talking to this correspondent also expressed grave concern over the onslaught on the shrimp industry. They declined to be named.

In the last two weeks, shrimps worth over Tk one crore 50 lakh in 16 farms were poisoned to death as their owners refused to pay toll, BFFEA sources said. But none of them filed any case with police fearing reprisal, they said.

A good number of farms have been forcibly occupied by the terrorists.

"We have been finished as shrimps worth several crores of taka have been destroyed. Death threats hang on us", said another owner seeking anonymity.

Shrimp traders are also not safe. Several incidents of looting of shrimps from vehicles took place in different areas of the two districts, said sources in the Shrimp Traders Association.

An attempt to kill shrimp exporter SM Amjad Hossain was foiled by his private security guards in the early hours of Friday.

According to police and locals, six armed miscreants in a white microbus went to his house at Lockpur village under Fakirhat upazilla at 3:30 am.

They fled away when security guards opened fire, police said. Amjad Hossain, Managing Director of Lockpur Fish Processing Ltd at Rupsha and Bagerht Sea Foods at Fakirhat, was staying at a rest house at Paikpara in Bagerht Sadar on that night.

According to Amjd Hossain, his shrimp farm at Fakirhat upazilla came under bomb attack at about midnight on June 6.

Amjad Hossain's younger brother, shrimp exporter SM Farhad Hossain, was gunned down by extremists on October 20 in 2001 at Kata Khali in Fakirhat. The case is now under trial in Khulna Speedy Trial Tribunal.

Wife of Slain Farhad is now facing threat for being complainant in her husband's murder.

"I also received several death threats for helping police to investigate the murder case", Amjad said.

Shrimp exporters of Khulna and Bagerhat have expressed deep concern at the incidents of bomb attack and threat during the ongoing peak season.

They said outlaws and ruling party activists sheltered by a section of corrupt police officials are involved in these incidents for refusing toll and protesting forcible occupation of some enclosures, said an official of BFFEA.

Killing of shrimps by poisoning in different enclosures increased this year, he said seeking anonymity fearing reprisal from outlaws.

On June 8, nine alleged outlaws were caught while they were going away after pouring poison into water of four enclosures at Golapdah village under Dumuria upazila. Shrimps worth over Tk 15 lakh were destroyed.

On the same day, shrimps worth over Tk 5 lakh were killed in the same manner in a farm at Lockpur village, owned by one Abul Hossain.

On June 7, poison was poured into a farm at Tapubling village in Jessore, killing shrimps worth over Tk 10 lakh.

Outlaws killed shrimps worth over Tk 20 lakh in seven enclosures at Jhilerdange village in Dumuria upazilla on June 1.

When asked, Khulna Police Superintendent Habibur Rahman said none of shrimp farm owners has filed any case.