The redrawn maritime border between India and Bangladesh has become a cause of concern between two friendly neighbouring countries.
The Indian Coast Guard on Sunday apprehended two Bangladeshi trawlers with 56 fishermen for illegally fishing in Indian waters off Bengal coast. In the last two months, ten trawlers with 132 Indian fishermen on board were seized for illegally entering Bangladeshi territory.
The fishing communities in Bengal apprehended that Sunday’s arrest might fuel an ego fight between two countries and delay the release of the Indian fishermen languishing in Bagherhat jail in Khulna district. Earlier, the Indian Coast Guard used to be lenient in allowing Bangladeshi fishermen to catch dry fish in the shallow-zone of Indian territory. But after the arrest of 132 Indian fishermen in the last two months, the attitude of Indian authority has also changed, said a highly-placed government officer.
Indian Coast Guard Ship ‘Sucheta Kripalani’ apprehended the two fishing trawlers “Allahar Malik-2” and “Anowara” with 28 fishermen on board each boat, 63 nautical miles southeast of Sagar Island. The two boats, laden with 1,200kg and 1,000kg of fish, were escorted by the Coast Guard ship to Sagar Island, where the Bangladeshis were handed over to Marine Police at Frazerganj Sunday.
“Preliminary investigation revealed that the fishermen came from Chittagong Port in Bangladesh. The boats departed for fishing on December 4 and were expected to return after one week,” said Coast Guard deputy inspector general D R Sharma.
“No communication equipment or identification documents were found with the apprehended fishermen,” he added.
Since October, Bangladeshi authorities seized ten trawlers and captured 132 fishermen for illegally entering into the country’s seawaters while fishing in the Sunderbans. The Indo-Bangla maritime border was redrawn following an order of the UN Tribunal at The Hague on July 7 this year. Since October, the Coast Guard has apprehended 106 Bangladeshi fishermen on board five Bangladeshi fishing boats for illegally fishing in Indian waters.
“Unaware of the change in the border alignment that took place in July this year, our fishermen frequent these places for greater catch. There are few channels in the region where maximum number of fish come and stay for a long period. So, the border realignment is a great loss for our fishermen,” said Kakdwip Matsajibi Unnayan Samity secretary Bijon Maity.
The fishermen in Bangladesh jails are having a very tough time with the onset of winter. “We are trying to send them some warm clothes. But, the immediate family members of these fishermen are in a pathetic condition. Last year, former Tamil Nadu chief minister Jayalalithaa gave a financial assistance of Rs 1 lakh from the chief minister’s relief fund to the families of 16 Indian fishermen lodged in a jail in Iran. Those fishermen from Tamil Nadu accidentally ventured into that nation’s territorial waters. “If our government does the same, a lot of lives would be saved,” said another member of the fishermen community.
2014 Bennett, Coleman & Co. Ltd.