Fishermen families to get VGF rice during hilsa ban

A total of 4,103 fishermen families in the district will receive 102.575 metric tonnes of rice as humanitarian assistance to support them during the 22-day ban on hilsa fishing during the peak breeding season.

According to the District Fisheries Office, the Ministry of Fisheries and Livestock has allocated the rice under the Vulnerable Group Feeding (VGF) programme for fishermen families in five upazilas of the district. Of the beneficiaries, 1,092 families in Sadar upazila, 900 in Gazaria, 1,000 in Louhajang, 500 in Tongibari and 611 in Sreenagar will receive the assistance, reports BSS.

Fisheries officer Md Golam Mehedi Hasan said that fishermen will remain off fishing from October 6 to October 27 as part of the government’s measures to protect breeding hilsa.

The VGF rice will be distributed during the fishing ban to help the fishermen families meet their basic needs, he said.

Each beneficiary family will receive 25 kilograms of rice, the official added.