UNB, Naogaon :
The plights of farmers and fishermen dependent on rivers in the district are mounting day by day due to indiscriminate water pollution and river encroachment in addition to the diversion of water from the transboundary rivers and their tributaries on the upstream in India.
The district is crisscrossed by a number of big and small rivers like the Atrai, Punarbhaba, Chhoto Jamuna, Shiba, Tulshi Ganga, Fakinni and Nagor, and they remain dry for 5-7 months a year, compared to their usual dry period of two-three months in the past.
According to the farmers, fishermen and noted citizens of the district, the diversion of water on the upstream of the transboundary rivers – the Atrai and Punarbhaba-and their tributaries and canals is prolonging the dry period of the whole river system in the district, hampering the dry-season irrigation seriously.
As the Shiba, Fakinni and Nagor are the branches of the two transboundary rivers, the Atrai and Punarbhaba, they have also started to remain dry for a longer period than the usual time over the last few years, they added.
They also pointed out that the farmers are facing great difficulties for irrigation during the dry season as the groundwater table is also falling down in tandem with the fall of water flows in the rivers.
Besides, encroachment, discharge of effluents by rice mills in Naogaon Sadar and by the sugar mill located in the adjacent Joypurhat district is also causing a huge damage to the fisheries of Chhoto Jamuna River, and also that of the Tulshi Ganga River linked with it.
Only a few years ago, Ranjan Das, an elderly farmer of Naogaon Sadar, used to cultivate rice, wheat and vegetables on a piece of land located in the vicinity of the Chhoto Jamuna during the dry season.
All the factors combined, the riverine economy of the district is falling apart and a huge population of the farmers and fishermen are gradually switching over to other means of livelihood.
Besides the cultivation of crops, Ranjan said, his family was dependent on the river water for activities such as bathing and clothes washing and other household works. These days, the river remains dry more than half of the year and hampers the cultivation and the daily life, he further said.
Gajen Hawlader, a fisherman of Sultanpur village in Sadar upazila, said the fishermen cannot go for fishing in the rivers for at least six months a year.
The fishermen of the area are living in a great hardship due to the scarcity of fishes all the year round and many of them have already changed the profession, he added.
Talking to UNB, Ekushey Udjapan Parishad president Advocate Abdul Bari said the sugar mill in the adjacent Joypurhat district is discharging wastes into the Chhoto Jamuna, destroying its fish resources.
Besides, encroachment of the river for the construction of large markets, rice mills, and even house buildings is going on unabated, he said.
Advocate Mohsin Reza, general secretary of the district unit Communist Party of Bangladesh (CPB), noted that rice mills built along the Chhoto Jamuna are dumping various hazardous wastes, including the ashes, into the river.
“We’ve submitted several memorandums to the local administration about pollution and encroachment of rivers, but the administration has not yet taken any step to stop the activities,” he added.
Jainal Abedin Mukul, convenor of the district unit Socialist Party of Bangladesh (SPB), said the water withdrawal by India from the transboundary rivers flowing across the district has become a major threat to its agriculture and fisheries.
Besides mounting pressure on the Indian government to ensure the right share of river water, the authorities concerned in Bangladesh should take immediate steps for dredging and storing water in the river channels during the dry season, he added.
Deputy Commissioner of the district Enamul Haque told UNB that they will conduct drives to remove illegal structures built on the banks of the rivers.
