Two youths achieve success in growing pearl in Nilphamari ponds

NILPHAMARI, July 09: Two youths have achieved a success in cultivating pearl, a precious stone used in making ornaments and so on, in the district.

Sources said pearl is a concretion of gray or blue colour which grows in oyster and other shells.

The two youths named Selim Al Mamun Babu and Zulfiker Rahman Babla started the venture while they were engaged in pisciculture in their ponds.

Sources said Babu and Babla both have two separate ponds of 60 and 90 decimal of land respectively.

They are now able to grow 60 to 70 pearl in each decimal of land.

In this connection, Babla said in 2018, he was a student of Mymensingh Fish Research Institute. There he was learnt that pearl can be cultivated in sweet water also. Later, he took seven days training on pearl cultivation there.

Operation of oyster is needed to put embryo into it so that it can grow there. Sources said as pearls grow in the body of oyster so after removing shell the pearl is to be harvested. It takes more than a year for an embryo to grow.

Sources said the Bangladesh Fishieres Research Institute, Mymensingh has taken a project in 2012 to cultivate pearl in sweet water and the project is in progress.

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