Traders of Sattari village in West Bengal’s Malda district are looking at a new direction of employment by making dry fish and selling it in several states of north-eastern India. The business has started taking off here with initially three to four traders from the village initiating it.
Dry fish is popular in the states of Assam, Sikkim, Nagaland, Manipur, and Mizoram. There is also a demand for it among the residents of the Darjeeling, Terai, and Dooars regions of West Bengal.
While people from the hills do seek dry fish, supply constraints are an impediment. So people from these parts have to depend on sea fish.
Until recently, dry fish was largely sent to the hills from other parts of West Bengal. Over the last few years, some traders in the Malda district have started entering the trade. The fish are brought from the coastal areas of the state, dried in Malda, and then supplied to the hills. Every 15 days about 20-25 traders from here send about two to three quintals of dry fish to the Northeast.
According to the traders, marine fish is mainly procured from Digha in Bengal and Paradeep in Odisha. It is then brought to Malda.
A special hut for making dry fish has been prepared in Sattari village by the traders. First, the fish are cleaned in water. They are cured with salt and then allowed to dry in the sun in the open air. A special fish-drying platform has been set up across a few acres of land in the village. The loft is made of bamboo.
“The fish is exported to north-eastern India mostly. These dry fish are sent to hilly areas such as Sikkim, Manipur, Assam, and Tripura. Most of the marine fish are brought in from Paradeep and Digha,” said Jayanta Choudhury, who is in the dry fish business.
It takes about a week to make dry fish. These are then cleaned and sent by cars to their destinations. Apart from the traders, many families of Sattari village and nearby areas have also benefitted from the business.
“We have been working here for the last five years. The dry fish from here is transported to north-eastern India. The prices vary,” said Biplab Mondal, one of the workers.
At one time, most of the villagers here worked as labourers. Now, on average, more than a hundred workers are involved in the processing of dry fish every day. Unloading the fish from cars, cleaning them, drying the fish, etc, are done regularly by local workers.
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