Since the Sundarbans was declared robber-free in 2018, it was expected that the region would be safe for fishermen. But some recent attacks on fishing trawlers have rendered the expectation wrong. According to newspaper reports, the robbers last week alone looted fishing nets, fish and fuel worth around Tk 1.50 crore from 20 trawlers. They also held seven fishermen hostage and extracted Tk 300,000 ransom from each family. The fishermen said there is a sudden rise in armed robberies in the southern Bay. Around 18-20 robbers boarding a foreign trawler attacked a fishing boat in Mandarbari area on the bay on November 16. The robbers opened fire and shot dead one person as the fishermen tried to resist the attack.
It is assumed that the robbers were Bangladeshis but they boarded an Indian trawler. They use foreign trawlers as a trick to keep their identities hidden. There were 35-40 robber gangs in the Sundarbans region three years back. Almost all of them surrendered during raids of the Rapid Action Battalion (RAB). The government also provided them monetary incentives to go back to normal life. Actually, the economic importance of the world’s largest mangrove forest, the Sundarbans as well as the Bay of Bengal is enormous. The coastal belt is linked to the livelihoods of millions of Bangladeshis. Therefore, the area cannot and should not remain hostage to robbers. Fishing is the livelihood of around 22,000 people in the Barguna region. Among them, 16,000 are registered fishermen. While they go fishing in the sea risking their lives, many of them cannot return ashore.
Leaders of the fisherman community at a meeting with the local Coast Guard and police have expressed their insecurity. One of the fishermen said they could not venture into the deep sea due to insecurity while the Indian fishermen entered the Bangladesh maritime zone for fishing. The law enforcers, however, could not give any assurance of safety to the fishermen. Bangladesh is suffering both ways as our fishermen cannot go to the deep sea for fishing for fear of armed robbers, fishermen from other countries are fishing inside our maritime boundary. This cannot go on. We think Coast Guard patrol has to be increased to keep the robbers at bay. It is the responsibility of the state to ensure the security of our fishermen. Most importantly, the godfathers of these robber gangs need to be identified and brought to book urgently.
