Believe it or not, an influx of a different kind from Bangladesh is giving gastronomic delights to fish-lovers in Assam. Thanks to two cyclones Hudhud and Phailin that arose over the Bay of Bengal 3-4 years ago, the much-sought-after hilsa fish are beginning to swim upstream into the Brahmaputra during the breeding season from river Padma in the neighbouring country. The outcome of this migration is that hilsa fish is now selling at unbelievable prices of Rs 200 to 300 per kg in markets in Dhubri district. And mind it, these are not frozen hilsa imported into the State in carriers. Rather, they are being caught fresh in the rivers here in abundant numbers, tickling the taste buds of fish lovers. The craze for hilsa across Assam has long kept it at a high price range of Rs 800-1200 in different seasons. But since 2013, the cherished hilsa has been landing on the plates of fish lovers in Dhubri at around Rs 200 per kg. Prahlad Chakraborty, a retired government employee and resident of Dhubri town said he had bought seven hilsa fish weighing 6 kg at Rs 250 per kg a couple of days ago. After stowing away his precious hoard in deep fridge, he is relishing it in installments with various mouth-watering preparations. Low prices have enabled many a cash-strapped consumer to once again taste the hilsa, which had gone beyond their reach earlier, Chakraborty enthused. An official source in Dhubri district Fishery department informed that normally 1 tonne of hilsa is fished on average during this season every year, but now fishermen are bringing in 2 to 3 tonnes of hilsa per day right from near the Indo-Bangladesh border in Dhubri to Jogighopa basin of the Brahmaputra in lower Assam. When asked about the reasons behind availability of hilsa in greater numbers in the lower reaches of Brahmaputra, that too for the fifth year running, the official suggested that the fish is beginning to breed here in the Jogighopa basin. Explaining the phenomena, he said that the hilsa species can swim against the current from the sea to the river mouth to lay eggs, as river mouths are ideal breeding ground because of the availability of food and the mixture of freshwater of river and saline water of sea. Egg laying of the hilsa which entered in years 2013 and 2014 into Brahmaputra basin during the two cyclones, seems to have been successful, hence Charles Darwin’s survival by natural selection has come into play in this phenomenon, the official surmised. Backwater flows into the Brahmaputra from river Padma in Bangladesh continues right up to Tezpur, which is the reason why the hilsa is also found up to Tezpur but not beyond in Brahmaputra’s upstream section, he added. According to traders, there is plenty of hilsa waiting to be fished and brought into the markets in Dhubri over the next 45 days or so. Surya Das of Dhubri fish market said that while the famed from Bengal hilsa has stopped coming, its place has been taken up by hilsa caught locally. Nearly 2 tonnes of this hilsa is being supplied up to Guwahati, and in the opposite direction to markets in Siliguri, Jalpaiguri, Alipurduar and Cooch Behar of North Bengal. As in last four years, this year too hilsa-lovers are rushing to the markets to buy the delicacy at low prices. I am selling nearly 100 kg of the fish daily here, said Sanker Das, a local fish seller.