Bogra Correspondent :
Some 18 rivers of Bogra including 45-kilomtre-long Jamuna River, which runs through Gaibandha, Bogra and Sirajganj district are losing its navigability alarmingly due to excessive silt deposited on its bed disrupting river communication seriously.
The rivers have been turned into crop fields those flowing through the district for drying. Different seasonal crops including rice, maize are cu cultivated in the River beds. The two banks of the Rivers are in the lack of water in the dry season.
They are Jamuna, Bengali, Karatoa, Alloys, Leman, Halahaliya, Ichamati, Mahisaban, Sukhadaha river, Dakuriya, Verily, Bhadrabati, Chandraboti, Gannai, Gazaria Manas, Baniyaiyan, Iramati and Bhelaka. The numerous Char have been wake up recently.
Many different crops are cultivated in the river chars.
There is no initiative of the WDB office to restore the navigability of the rivers. Although the WDB was taken to bring back the navigability of the river the file has been held for a long time.
Once there were boats, launches and steamers in the rivers carrying goods and passengers from one district to another district.
Continuing dumping of garbage, waste of local industries and absence of dredging operation are responsible for filling river beds with silt day by day which obstruct movement of water transports. Besides, a group of land grabbers occupied the wet beds of the rivers by building unauthorized structures. During the winter season the water of the rivers fall drastically and some places of the rivers turn into dead canal.
Once the rivers of the Jamuna, Bengali, Karatoa, Isamoti, Nagour of Bogra district were very busy with water transports. Now those rivers have lost their existence.
Particularly in the winter season, movements of boats and launches become totally stopped due to lack of navigability of the rivers. The rivers have also lost their fishing resources due to scarcity of water flow for continuous dumping of the waste of local factories. The river sides are now under the possession of land grabbers in the name of markets, schools and madrasas.
Local people demanded of the government to save those rivers for greater interest of the people by recovering the occupied lands from grabbers as well as massive dredging operation.
Sources said, the water flow of the River Jamuna has decreased drastically in the last few years.
As a result, the canal is losing its navigability rapidly. During last summer, an initiative was taken to dredge the canal but the programme has not been implemented due to some unknown reasons.
Md. Ruhul Amin, Executive Engineer of Bogra Water Development Board said.
‘We are trying to restore the navigability of the rivers’. Letter was sent to the appropriate authorities of the Government for quick action.
