Calcuttans will have to do without Padma-r ilish because of an 11-day ban on hilsa fishing in Bangladesh

An 11-day ban on fishing hilsa in Bangladesh has created a shortage in Calcutta this festive season.

The Bangladesh fisheries department has banned hilsa fishing from October 5 to 16 to boost production during the breeding season and meet demand at home and abroad.

The ban means that Calcutta and its adjoining areas — 100 tonnes of hilsa are consumed each day during this season, 70 per cent of which is sourced from Bangladesh — must do without the prized Padma-r ilish for almost a fortnight.

The last hilsa consignment, weighing 350 tonnes, arrived in the city on October 3, after which the Petrapole border closed for Durga Puja.

The local hilsa from Digha, Diamond Harbour and Raidighi — which makes up the other 30 per cent of the supply — has had negligible presence this season because of insufficient catch.

At a Dum Dum market, the local variety of hilsa sold for Rs 350 per kg last weekend. In Tollygunge, it sold for Rs 375. “Ilish from Bangladesh is not available currently,” said a fish vendor in Tollygunge.

Fish lovers were in for disappointment on Sunday morning, when they had to look hard to spot their favourite fish in the market.

“Till last week, there was an abundance of hilsa. But the situation is completely different now. The fish vendors said there was some sort of a shortage and that they did not know when the fish would be available in plenty again,” said Roshni Mukherjee, a Salt Lake homemaker.

Mukherjee and other hilsa lovers will have to wait for at least 10 more days to savour Padma-r ilish.

“Fishermen can venture out to catch the fish only after October 16. That means it would take another five days for the fish to arrive in Calcutta,” said an official of the fisheries department in Calcutta.

In Calcutta, the hilsa season started on a disappointing note this year, with the fish remaining out of the reach of the common man’s dining table because of high price. The supply from Bangladesh was less than even 50 tonnes per consignment for the whole of July and August.

The drought ended with the arrival of 125 tonnes of hilsa in the first week of September. Since then, there had been a deluge of the fish till Durga Puja.