Dried fish making now serves as their livelihood

Traditional fish drying serves as the means of survival for the people of Bhatipara Haor area in Baniachong upazila of Habiganj, especially after the recurrent damage of Boro paddy due to floods since 2017 and recent price fall of the crop.

Usually dependent on Boro paddy, people of Bhatipara village also catch fish in haor (shallow water body that dries up in winter) area during the rainy season.

Now they are engaged in making dried fish in a large scale.

During a recent visit to Bhatipara, some 15 kilometres from Habiganj district town, this correspondent saw Ranubala Rani Das keeping tengra, shrimp and other small fishes on bamboo and plastic mats for drying in the sun in front of her house.

Workers sort dried fish. Photo: Mintu Deshwara

“We are doing it for sale to maintain the family, otherwise we would face starvation,” said the middle-aged woman.

Many other people including men, women and children were seen engaged in producing dried fish as the trade provides livelihood for around 350 families at the village.

“We were used to making dried fish for long to earn extra money. Now we are doing this as the main source of income due to repeated loss in Boro cultivation,” said Shimul Biswas of the same village.

Dried fish is sold to buyers from different areas for Tk 150 to Tk 300 a kg, depending on the fish, said Radha Kanto Das, another villager engaged in the trade.

For drying fish, it is kept on large mats either on the ground or on bamboo platforms, he said.

“The income from selling dried fish supports our eight-member family. One gets Tk 200 to Tk 500 as daily wage for doing different works related to producing dried fish,” said Amrit Lal Das, 55, who has been doing the work for 30 years at Bhatipara.

“We have five acres of cropland in haor. After recurrent damage of paddy due to floods, we are now living by making dried fish,” said Sabita Rani Das, who with her husband, son and daughter-in-law was seen busy in the work at their field.

Abul Kashem Chowdhury, chairman of Baniachong Upazila Parishad, said, “Poor people of haor areas often go to other places in search of work. But villagers at Bhatipara have taken up dried fish making for living.”

Fish is available in the area and so, the trade bears a good prospect, he added.