25 fishermen still missing after 20 days
A total of 25 fishermen from two fishing trawlers that sank in the Bay of Bengal due to Cyclone Midhili remain missing even after 20 days.
The families of these fishermen are enduring days of worry and anxiety, with some facing dire circumstances as the primary breadwinners are still missing.
According to the Barguna District Trawler Owners Association, in early November, 17 fishermen set out to the Bay of Bengal for fishing in a trawler named FB Elahi Bharasa, owned by Rafiqul Islam in the Charduani area of Patharghata in Barguna.
On 17 November, all the fishermen aboard that trawler went missing after being hit by Cyclone Midhili. Additionally, a trawler named FB Mayer Doa of Patharghata, which had gone fishing in the sea a few days before the cyclone, sank on 17 November in a storm. Eight fishermen aboard that trawler also went missing.
Out of the 17 fishermen missing from FB Elahi Bharasa, 16 are from Barguna Sadar Upazila. Among them, seven are from Gazi Mahmud village in Naltona union, and nine are from Dhalua Union.
Salma Begum, the wife of the missing fisherman Md Liton Howlader, 42, from Barguna Sadar Upazila Naltona Union, said, "My husband left home to fish in the sea a week before the storm. The day before the storm, I spoke with him on the phone for the last time. Since then, there is no trace of him. I lost my husband."
Hasib, the son of Monir Hossain, another missing fisherman from Naltona Union, shared, "We talked with my father the day before the cyclone. My father was the sole earner in our family. Currently, we have to go through a lot of difficulties."
Golam Mostafa Chowdhury, president of the Barguna District Trawler Owners Association, has conveyed that no trace of the missing fishermen was discovered during Cyclone Midhili.
The fate of the trawler named MV Mayer Doa, and whether it sank in the sea due to the storm, remains uncertain. Similarly, it is unclear whether the trawler named Elahi Bharasa floated to India or sank.
UNO Shamim Mia of Barguna Sadar has stated that there is no trace of the missing fishermen in the aftermath of Cyclone Midhili. It is not possible to determine whether they are alive or dead. The list of missing fishermen has been submitted to the office of the Deputy Commissioner.