Fish seed and egg production at the Santhia Fish Breeding Centre in Pabna has remained suspended for more than a decade as theft and lack of security have crippled operations. Valuable equipment has been stolen, and influential locals have reportedly cut down trees inside the facility area. As a result, fish production has been severely disrupted, causing financial losses for local fish farmers and entrepreneurs.
According to the Santhia Upazila Fisheries Department, the breeding centre was established in 1990 on land belonging to the Water Development Board in Nandannapur. The project was initiated under a joint arrangement to boost fish production in the open waterbodies of the Pabna Irrigation and Rural Development Project. Ten ponds were excavated across approximately 37 bighas of land.
The facility was equipped with five high-capacity water pumps, modern lighting, hatcheries and advanced infrastructure required for fish seed production. In 1995, six fishermen’s cooperative societies from both banks of the Ichamati River were awarded a five-year lease. After the lease expired, the project came to a halt.
In 2006, the Upazila Fisheries Development Cooperative Society took the centre on a five-year lease at an annual rate of Tk 25,000. This marked the beginning of the centre’s decline. Incidents of theft increased, with soil, trees and even electric fixtures disappearing from the premises. When the lease ended in 2011, it was not renewed.
At one stage, the breeding centre was allegedly taken over illegally and converted into a private farm by Asif Shams Ranjan, former mayor of Bera Municipality and son of the then Deputy Speaker Shamsul Haque Tuku. On August 5, 2024, following a change in the political landscape, the Water Development Board regained control of the property.
Local residents said the centre once produced around 5,000 kilograms of fingerlings and at least 2,000 kilograms of hatchlings every year. It is now completely abandoned. Due to illegal occupation and prolonged neglect, water pumps, valuable trees, barbed wire fencing, around fifty floodlights and even electric poles have been stolen. The ponds have dried up, and assets worth several crores of taka have been looted.
A visit to the Nandannapur Fish Breeding Centre revealed a desolate environment covered in thick bushes, with no security personnel in sight. Several nearby villagers were seen cutting grass for cattle. They said organized groups have long been stealing trees, pump machinery and lighting equipment from the centre during the night.
