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The indigenous fish species in Tangail are under a big threat due to their indiscriminate catching and rapid increase in farming and marketing of the hybrid ones.
   Besides, all varieties of local fish are also on the decline in all the twelve upazilas of the district because of drastic fall in waters of the rivers, ponds and other water bodies.
   The sharp fall in production of local fish resources is also widely blamed on the indiscriminate catching of the mother fish.
   The hybrids are replacing a total of 20 varieties of local fish including puti, kai, magur, shing, pabda, bine, chital, khalisa, shol, boal, tengra, bheda and lalkhalisa.
   The local hats and bazars are now flooded with hybrid varieties of fish which are less tasty and nutritious than the local ones.
   Poor production of the indigenous fish species has made them scarce on the markets and thrown a good number of local fishermen out of their ancestral profession.
   These fishermen once caught huge fish from the local water bodies and sold the same after meeting their domestic demand.
   With the depletion of local fish resources in the region, the proverb ‘Bengalis are with rice and fish’ seems to have started losing its actual meaning.
   Sources said unabated use of fine nets for fishing in the water bodies, their pollution and poor depth in river waters, because of
   filling up of their embankments by illegal encroachers, are also among the
   reasons behind the
   fall in production of the local fish.
   Amir Hamja, 55, Azim, 40, and Nurul Islam, 50, fish traders at the Parkbazar market in the town, told this correspondent that very little number of the local fish species were now found in the rivers and water bodies, adding that the production will decrease more in future.
   Enam Ahmed Khan,44, Laboni Basak, 39, and Professor Mohiuddin Miah, buyers at the Battola Municipality Market, said that local fish were very scarce on the market, adding that even if they were found, very high prices were charged for them which was beyond the purchasing capacity of the common consumers.
   Fishery Survey officer of the district Mohammad Ashrafuddin told New Age that there were a total of 40,328 ponds (39,846 private owned and 482 on Khas land) on 6,77,4 66 hectares of land, 317 water bodies on 1,821 hectares of land ,36 rivers on 78,58,921 hectares of land, 123 canals on 8,84,723 hectares of land, two fish seeds multiplication farms, five hatcheries and twelve sanctuaries on 160 hectares of land.
   Awareness should be created among people against indiscriminate catching of local fish from the rivers and water bodies to boost their production and this is possible only through a joint public-private initiative, the sources said.
   While talking to New Age, district fishery officer Rezaul Karim said, ‘There should be utmost efforts from the upazila fishery offices to prevent the catching of indigenous fish species from the water bodies of the district.’
   ‘Most farmers cultivate hybrid fishes to meet the demand for fish in the district although we are trying to prevent depletion of indigenous fish species,’ he added.

The education minister, Nurul Islam Nahid, said the present government was attaching utmost importance to the development of agriculture sector to enhance production of food grains in the country.
   ‘Being an agriculture-based country, development of Bangladesh would not be possible without giving due importance to the development of agriculture sector,’ the education minister said, adding that the agriculturists would have to come forward to play their role in this regard.
   The minister said this while addressing a discussion meeting titled ‘Present and Future Plan of Sylhet Agricultural University’ as chief guest.
   The discussion meeting was held at the university auditorium Thursday afternoon.
   Nurul Islam Nahid also said presenting a developed nation would not be possible unless creation of an environment congenial to study for the students was not possible in the country’s educational institutions.
   SAU vice-chancellor Professor Md Abdul Awal, lawmaker Syeda Jebunnessa Haq, district Awami League secretary Iftekhar Hosen Shamim, among others, addressed the meeting as special guests.
   The SAU student affairs adviser, Professor Jamal Uddin Bhuiyan, presided over the meeting.

A cub of cheetah was captured from a house at village Gobindapur under Moulvibazar sadar upazila Wednesday night.
   After hearing that local people had seen a cub of an animal to have taken position on the top of a tree at the house of one Birendra Debnath at village Gobindapur, Masud Ahmed, councillor of Moulvibazar municipality, along with his three
   associates Suhel Ahmed, Ansar Miah and Abed Miah went to the spot and caught the cub unhurt.
   Councilor Masud said the caught animal was a cub of cheetah which is around three years old.
   It is three feet in length and two and half feet in width, weighting about 12 kilograms.
   He said the forest department had been informed to receive the cheetah cub.
   Masud further said that the animal might have come down from Dinarpur or Kalapur hills in search of food.

A group of students of Patuakhali Science and Technology University assaulted a local journalist while performing his professional duty on the university campus on Thursday.
   The PSTU students attacked and severely injured Jobayedul Hasan, Dumki upazila correspondent of the regional daily Banglar Bane, following recent publication of several reports on the newspaper against terrorist activities, extortion and drug addiction of a section of students of the university.
   Jobayedul was admitted to Dumki Upazila Health Complex.
   Following the attack, a case was lodged by Zakir Hossain, father of the victim, also regional daily Matobad correspondent and secretary of the Dumki Press Club, with the Dumki police station accusing 14 students of the PSTU.
   The accused are Mazaharul Islam Shakil, Mehdi Hasan Mohsin, Khalid Mahmud Khan, Niaz Morshed Shaon, Shahin Khan, Russel
   Miah, Biswajit Das Hero, Maniruzaman Himu, Kawsar Hossain Tarun, Rabiul Awal and four other students of the PSTU.
   In the case, the complainant alleged that the accused were local residents who were engaged in different criminal activities.
   They attacked and injured severely Jobayed when he went to the PSTU campus at about 1:00 pm for covering a programme on warm clothe distribution by a voluntary organisation of the university students.
   The attackers after snatching digital camera, cash money and gold chain from Jobayed drove him out of the campus. The Dumki Press Club condemning the attack demanded immediate arrest and trial of the attackers.

The night guard who was arrested in Pabna for his alleged involvement in the stealing of primary textbooks meant for free distribution was sent to jail on Thursday after two-day remand.
   Officer-in-charge of Pabna sadar police station Md Motiur Rahman said the night guard, Sariful Islam Jony, 22, also confessed to them that he had sold 1,400 more books after stealing them from the store of the District Primary Education Office.
   ‘He also revealed some important information but we will not disclose this for the sake of investigation, said the OC.
   Being informed by DPEO officials, a mobile court led by additional deputy magistrate Md Emam Uddin Kabir and comprising members of the Rapid Action Battalion conducted a drive at the DPEO and arrested Sariful on Sunday.
   Later, based on his confessional statement, the mobile court raided the house of one Md Rahim at village Narayanpur in Pabna sadar upazila and recovered 1,620 primary textbooks from there. Saiful was later handed over to the sadar police.
   Then the police filed a case against Sariful and asked for five days’ remand on Monday.
   The court granted two days remand on Tuesday.
   A three-member investigation committee headed by the additional district primary education officer has also been formed to investigate the matter.

An incident of burglary was committed at Kurigram Kamil Madrassah Wednesday night.
   The police said a gang of miscreants entered the room of principal of the institution cutting grills of window and took away Tk 20,000 in cash, a computer with printer and other valuables ransacking the room at sometime of the night.
   Being informed, superintendent of police Mahbubur Rahman along with officer-in charge of Kurigram sadar thana Taharul Islam visited the spot.
   A case was filed with the Kurigram sadar police station in this connection.
   The police arrested night guard of the madrassah Abdus Samad.

Two sisters died of suspected food poisoning and their father and mother fell sick at Satirpara in Narsingdi town early Thursday.
   He deceased are Swarnali, 5, and her sister Ritu, 3, both daughters of Abdul Malek of Satirpara in the town.
   Hospital and family sources said, Abdul Malek, his wife Nurjahan Begum and two daughters Swarnali and Rita had consumed some stale food Wednesday night.
   All the four fell sick at midnight and neighbours rushed them to Narsingdi Sadar Hospital where Swarnali and Rita died in the morning.
   Abdul Malek and Nurjahan Begum were admitted to the hospital.

The police seized 270 fake currency notes of Tk 500 denomination, from the vault of Janata Bank Demra branch in Faridpur upazila of Pabna on Thursday.
   The police also arrested cashier of the branch, Md Abdus Subhan, in this connection.
   Officer-in-charge of Faridpur police station Md Abu Jafar said acting on a tip- off they raided the branch and recovered 270 fake currency notes, each of Tk 500 denomination.
   The branch manager filed a case with the Faridpur police station in this connection.
   The manager said the recovered fake notes were not included in the total cash of the bank.

The police arrested two wanted criminals in separate drives in Gazipur Tuesday night.
   The arrested were identified as Russel and Abu Taher. Acting on a tip-off, a team from Kapasia police station raided Salna area under the police station and arrested Russel.
   Another team of police of sadar upazila raided Lohadi area and arrested Abu Taher.
   The police said they were accused in several cases including murder and extortion.

The police arrested four alleged drug peddlers along with 21 bottles of Indian Phensidyl syrup and seized a private car in front of Kalaroa Upazila Livestock Office Wednesday morning, the police said.
   The arrested are Saker Ali Mollah, 36, son of Abdul Malek Mollah of village Daria in Borhanuddin upazila of Bhola, Babul Biswas, 28, son of Jamal Uddin Biswas of village Shialdanga in Jhikorgacha upazila, Abul Kashem, 58, son of late Kathu Sardar and Younus Ali, 48, son of Elahi Box, both from village Konnyadohah in Sharsha upazila of Jessore.
   Acting on a tip-off, a Kalaroa police team,
   led by Officer-In-Charge Enamul Haque, stopped a Dhaka-bound private
   car in front of the
   Kalaroa Upazila Livestock Office.
   They recovered 21 bottles of Indian Phensidyl syrup after searching the car and arrested the four drug peddlers.