As Bengal gets ready for “Durga Pujo”– the biggest festival for Bengalis which will begin next month, Bangladesh has started exporting hilsa or ‘ilish’ to India. For Bengalis, the Puja season is all about feasting. And needless to say, without Ilish – the queen of all fish as it is referred to, celebration will remain incomplete.

According to Dhaka Tribune, eight companies have sent 104 tonnes of the fish to India through the Benapole land port on Wednesday.

The decision has not only made the Bengalis happy but the fish sellers are relieved too.

Bengalis in India have happily accepted the fact that the hilsa coming from Bangladesh—typically sourced from the Padma river is better in taste.

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In fact, the Bangladeshi hilsa is priced significantly higher than the locally sourced fish.

Bangladesh imposed a ban on August 1, 2012 to keep ilish prices affordable in the local market. That apart, the decision also coincided with the West Bengal government’s refusal to share the Teesta river water with Bangladesh.

However, the Sheikh Hasina government in September 2020 too had decided to send 1,475 tonnes of hilsa to India as a goodwill gesture to coincide with the Durga Puja celebrations in West Bengal.

After banning exports of Hilsa to India in 2012, Bangladesh allowed shipment of the fish in 2018.

Bangladesh accounts for more than 80% of the world's ilish production, the news organization said.

Demand for Bangladesh hilsa has always remained high among the Bengali community across India.