BHOLA, March 1, 2024 (BSS) - A mobile court, in a drive, arrested eight fishermen this morning and seized fishing boat and net from the Meghna river in Daulatkhan upazila of the district for defying the government's ongoing two-month ban on all kinds of fishing including catching of jatka (hilsa fry).

Later, the mobile court sentenced them to different terms of imprisonment.

District Fisheries Officer Abul Kalam Azad said a total of eight fishermen were arrested with one fishing boat and 25,000 meters of net during the drive from the river of Meghna.
 
Executive Magistrate of District Administration Mohammad Arafat Hussain conducted the mobile court and sentenced six fishermen to different terms of jail and fined two fishermen with Taka 9000, he said.

The government has imposed a two-month ban starting from March 1 on all kinds of fishing in the 70-km Padma-Meghna sanctuary area.

The prohibition, enforced by the district and upazila task forces, aims to preserve the aquatic ecosystem and boost hilsa production.