Fishers stage protest for not receiving allotted rice 

LALMOHAN, BHOLA, Apr 12: Fishermen staged a protest and formed a human chain at Kobkhali Matsyaghat adjacent to Patwarirhaat in Dhaligaurnagar Union in Lalmohan Upazila of the district on Friday afternoon after not receiving the allocated VGF rice. 
Expressing their anger, the fishermen said, "We are registered fishermen. We have refrained from fishing in the river due to the ongoing two-month ban. As a result, we have become unemployed which is making difficult for us to run our families. However, even though 40 days of the ban have passed, we have not yet received the first instalment of the rice. The UP chairman is delaying its distribution. The Upazila Fisheries Office is also not taking any steps in this connection."
In this connection, Dhaligaurnagar UP Chairman Md Maksudur Rahman said that the Union BNP has asked to give 60 per cent of the total cards to the fishermen. They have already given some lists and some lists are still pending, so it has not been possible to distribute rice to the fishermen.
Lalmohan Upazila Fisheries Officer Ali Ahmed Akhand said, "I have told the chairman to provide rice before Eid. The DO of rice has been given by the Fisheries Office long ago. It is not known why the chairman is delaying in providing rice."
In this connection, Lalmohan Upazila Nirbahi Officer Mohammad Sifat Bin Sadek said, "There has been a delay in preparing the list of fishermen. Hopefully, rice distribution will start by Sunday after checking the fishermen's cards."