Legacy of fried hilsa to wither away!

Quite a number of people visit Mawa ferry ghat (terminal) only to relish freshly fried hilsa. There are around 200 small restaurants on the banks of the Padma. Travellers on their way to Shimulia and Kawrakandi also enjoy the mouthwatering fried hilsa.
However, traders and food-lovers alike fear that the days of relishing the traditional food item are numbered. Once the Padma bridge is built and operational, the tradition may come to an end as businesses surrounding the operation of ferry and launch services.

Visiting Shimulia terminal on last Friday, these correspondents came across the makeshift restaurants that have been set up there . The workers of 4-5 restaurants were found calling for the clients whenever they saw one or a group crossing the area.

Ripon Chandra Barman, a restaurant owner at Simulia new terminal, said, “I have been doing this business for 15 years. I see less profit now after I came to the new terminal. My clients do not often find us here in the new place.”

Hilsa, both fried and ready-to-fry, are put on display in front of the restaurants. The customers can choose whichever piece of the fish they want.

Each piece of fish costs Tk 60-Tk 90. One can also enjoy a full piece of hilsa.

The Mawa ghat went into operation around 35 years ago when mainly trawlers crossed the river. Then it started seeing movement of launches and ferries.

Simultaneously, businesses including sales of food items, began mushrooming around the the terminal area. At one stage, traders set up restaurants and fried hilsa became part and parcel of the business given the popularity of the fish among travellers and food-lovers who go there from distant places.

Ali Asif, a former student of Dhaka University, often goes to Mawa with his friends to relish fried hilsa. He and his friends once started for Mawa on their bikes at dead of night. They enjoyed the food there and returned at dawn.

However, this kind of adventure among hilsa-lovers may dwindle as the Mawa ghat is hardly likely to be operational after the construction of the Padma Bridge in 2018. The same applies to the Kawrakandi terminal, on the other side of the river.

In fact, several restaurant owners at Shimulia terminal, said they are worried about their future.

Mohammad Ali Fakir, owner of Bismillah Hotel at Kawrakandi terminal, said, “People come here from all over just for the freshly fried hilsa. Some love the hilsa eggs. What will we sell if the ghat is no longer here?”

Hilsa connoisseur Rizwan Ahmed who came with his friends from Dhaka, echoed the same sentiment.

"I often come here only to enjoy fried hilsa. It won't be possible if the bridge is complete. Perhaps, comfort of having the bridge will be tinged with the regret of not being able to enjoy the fried hilsa of Mawa,” said Rizwan.