Legal notice to stop export of hilsa to India
September 22, 20242 Mins Read
Jumbangla Desk: Legal notices have been sent to government officials protesting the permission to export 3000 tons of hilsa to India. In the notice, the Secretary of the Ministry of Commerce, the Secretary of the Ministry of Fisheries and Livestock, the Chairman of the National Board of Revenue and the Chief Controller of the Import-Export Office have been made defendants.

hilsha

On Sunday (September 22), the legal notice was sent by Supreme Court lawyer Md. Mahmudul Hassan. It is requested to take necessary measures to stop the export of hilsa within three days of receiving the notice.

According to the legal notice, India has vast and extensive maritime boundaries. Hilsa is widely produced in Indian waters. Considering this, there is no need for India to import hilsa fish from Bangladesh. But India mainly imports hilsa from Padma river in Bangladesh.

Indian agents and fish exporters in Bangladesh stock hilsa fish from the Padma River throughout the year and export all hilsa fish from the Padma River to India subject to the permission of the Bangladesh government and, in some cases, illegally smuggle across the border. Because all the hilsa of Padma river in Bangladesh is exported and smuggled to India, the people of Bangladesh do not get hilsa from Padma river in the market. As a result, the people of the country have to eat sea hilsa, which is not as tasty as padma hilsa.

It is also said that the limited amount of hilsa available in the Padma River in Bangladesh is not enough according to the needs of the people of Bangladesh. In this situation, if all Padma hilsa goes to India, then the people of Bangladesh will not be able to eat Padma hilsa.

Thus, it is not appropriate for the government of Bangladesh to deprive the people of Bangladesh of Padma hilsa and feed the people of India with Padma hilsa. It is true that Bangladesh imports various daily necessities from India but the Indian government never exports to Bangladesh without meeting the needs of its own people.

A new campaign is coming, nationwide enforcement of the law will start from November 1

According to Bangladesh Export Policy 2021-24, Hilsa fish is not a freely exportable fish. It is also mentioned that the Ministry of Commerce has acted against the interest of the people of Bangladesh by allowing the export of hilsa fish to India.