Residents of Ichli area are being subjected to the peculiar suffering of having to live in the vicinity of a huge storage of rotten shrimps for the last five months.

About Tk 3 crore worth of shrimps and prawns kept in a cold storage of Sea Food Corporation in Chandpur town have rotted away after the electricity supply to the storage was cut off in December last year for non-payment of bills.

Shahidur Rahman Chowdhury, owner of Sea Food Corporation, took out a loan of Tk 20 crore from Sonali Bank Chandpur branch. He did not pay back the loan. He winded up his business and secretly moved to the USA in April 2016 selling off his house. The loan, including interest, now stands at Tk 31 crore. 

The bank authorities twice tried to auction the shrimps and prawns but failed.

Meanwhile, power supply to the cold storage was disconnected in December after the unpaid bills reached around Tk 5.5 lakh.

The shrimps worth about Tk 3 crore began to rot away.

Locals said the foul smell from the storage has made their lives unbearable and they could not do anything about it.

Chandpur municipality and others concerned have been informed of the matter but no action was taken, they said.

Bangladesh Coast Guard officials said their staffers, who live nearby, also filed complaints.

The cold storage owner could not be contacted.

Chandpur Municipality Mayor Nasir Uddin Ahmed said they got complaints but he thinks the matter should be settled by the owner and the bank together.  He said, “We have informed the bank authorities to take prompt action. If they fail, we will take steps”.

Abdul Matin, general manager of Sonali Bank Chandpur branch, said they have obtained permission from higher authorities to file a case against the owner.

He said if the court issued an order, they could remove the rotten shrimps.