Huge Hilsha fish rotting due to power crisis in coastal belt

BARISAL, Aug 31 (UNB) Huge quantities of Hilsha fish are rotting everyday in the coastal areas as power crisis hampers sufficient ice production needed for preservation and processing of the fish.brPower crisis has created this situation and several hundred maunds of rotten hilshas are being thrown into the sea or river estuaries everyday due to shortage of ice supply, said local businessmen and fishermen.brAcknowledging the facts, Patuakhali Palli Bidyut Samity Assistant General Manager Nishit Kumar Karmakar said they receive only one third supply of power against the demand and so ice factories cannot produce sufficient ice.brHe said Mohipur fishing port in Kolapara Upazila of Patuakhali, one of the largest Hilsha wholesale centres of the region, needs three megawatts power daily on an average but it gets only one megawatt.brDaily production of ice in the factories of Kolapara, Patharghata, Daulatkhan-Chorfassion, coastal fishing areas of Patuakhali, Barguna and Bhola districts and wholesale market of Barisal city decreased to 3000-3500 cans against the minimum demand of 17000 cans per day.brSituation is so grave that deep sea fishing has been stalled and fishes worth Tk 4.0 million (40 lakh) were rotten and destroyed in the last week, sources said.brBarguna district trawler owners' association adviser Golam Mustafa Chowdhury said 19 ice factories of Patharghata coastal area now can supply only highest 1000 cans of ice per day against the demand of 9000 cans due to lack of sufficient power supply.brRecently motors of 10 ice factories were burnt due to low voltage and 26 ice factories of the area were closed in the district in a week due to this problem.brPresident of Barisal district ice factory owners' association Anisuzzaman Khan Kamal said only four out of 14 ice factories in Barisal fishing port are now operative and failed to produce sufficient ice due to load shedding and low voltages.brLeaders of the ice factory owners' association of Barisal region said more than Tk 400 million was invested in ice-industries depending on Hilsha fish processing and due to the power crisis they would certainly incur a heavy loss.