Ban on entry to Sundarbans for three months: Thousands of foresters in trouble

The Forest Department has banned tourists and foresters from entering the world's largest mangrove forest, Sundarbans, for the next three months. The ban will be in effect from June 1 to August 31 to preserve biodiversity.

AZM Hasanur Rahman, Divisional Forest Officer (DFO) of Sundarbans, confirmed this information on Saturday (May 31) afternoon. He said that all activities including eco-tourism, fish and crab hunting, and honey extraction will be completely closed during this period.

According to the Forest Department, a ban is imposed on entry to the Sundarbans every year during this period. However, the most affected are thousands of fishermen, boatmen, and other forest families including Mouyals in the areas adjacent to the Sundarbans.

Mohammad Ali, a fisherman from Gabura Union in Shyamnagar Upazila, said, “The Sundarbans are our bread and butter, if it is closed, our kitchen will be closed. How will the family survive if we sit for three months?” He complained that the rice allocated by the government is not shared by everyone. Although the real fishermen are deprived of assistance, those who do not go to the forest are the ones who are getting rice cards.

The Upazila Fisheries Office said that the number of registered fishermen in Shyamnagar is 23,928. But only 8,324 are receiving assistance. A total of 77 kg of rice will be provided to them in two installments over three months as allocated assistance.

Local fisherman Jalil Gazi expressed his anger and said, “Crabs do not lay eggs at this time, so why the ban? Foresters are being closed at will. Many influential people get multiple boat licenses and rent them, but we, who are real foresters, are the ones who are deprived.”

Golam Rabbani, the head of Gabura Union, said, “My family is completely dependent on the forest. If we cannot collect honey, our income stops. If we had an alternative income system, we could have survived at least this time.”

Habibul Islam, assistant forest officer of Satkhira Range, said, “This ban is very important in the interest of protecting biodiversity. The issuance of forest entry passes has already been stopped and those staying in the forest have been ordered to return by May 31.”

However, locals claim that if proper and adequate food assistance is not ensured for the actual forest dwellers along with the implementation of this ban, this initiative to protect the forest will become the cause of extreme suffering in their lives.