This Durga Puja season there is a shortage of Hilsa. The reason: Bangladesh, the world’s largest producer of the fish, has intensified its crackdown on the transportation of hilsa to neighbouring India, reinforcing a long-standing ban on exports.
Farida Akhter, adviser to the Bangladesh ministry of fisheries and livestock has been quoted as saying by the BBC that the renewed effort, which came a month after a new government took office in Dhaka, is to ensure that the prized fish remains more accessible to consumers in Bangladesh.
“The previous government would lift the ban during the Durga Puja festival. They used to call it a gift. This time I don’t think we need to give a gift because [if we do it] our people will not be able to eat the fish while it is allowed to be exported to India in large numbers,” Akhter told the BBC.
This stand marks a clear departure from deposed former prime minister Sheikh Hasina's renowned "hilsa diplomacy" with India, where she often allowed consignments of the fish to be transported to India during the festival season.
Bangladesh is the leading producer of hilsa (Tenualosa ilisha), a kind of species of fish related to the herring, abundant in the Bay of Bengal and also thriving in rivers.