|
July
5, 2000
Sylhet,
July 4 (UNB) – Dealing a severe blow to the livelihoods of thousands
of boatmen, the Kushiyara river and a good number of haors in the
country’s northeastern region are being silted up for lack of proper
maintenance.
According
to boatmen, river vessels cannot ply on waterways of the region during
the lean period due to loss of navigability over 50-km areas of
Kalni-Kushiyara and emergence of shoals at various points of the Surma
river.
As
a result, transportation of raw materials from the country’s
northeastern part to other regions is severely being hampered.
When
hundreds of acres of land remain fallow in the dry season for want of
irrigation, floodwaters wash away standing crops from vast tracts of
land during monsoon in the region.
The
low-lying areas of 22 upazilas and parts of 11 upazilas in Sylhet,
Sunamganj, Habiganj, Netrakona, Kishoreganj and Brahmanbaria
districts are known as ‘haor’ or ‘bhati’ regions.
According
to official statistics, a number of different sizes of rivers,
including 289-km Surma, 228-km Kalni-Kushiyara and 235-km Boulai,
Dhanu, Ghora and Utra, run through the haor areas.
The
livelihoods of nearly one crore people living in the region are
dependent on the rivers that are now dying.
Expert
said the course of Kushiyara river is slowly but surely changing and
it has been occurring since mid-20th century, taking
thousands of tons of soil into its gorge from its both sides. And this
mud, according to the experts, ultimately thickens on the riverbed,
affecting the environment.
They
said some 35-km areas from Madna to Ajmiriganj on Bhairab-Ajmiriganj
route have already silted up, disrupting river traffic at the
downstream of Kalni-Kushiyara for 4-5 months from December to April
each year.
Locals
alleged that no government since the country’s independence 29 years
ago has taken any initiatives to re-excavate the rivers.
Besides,
unabated emergence of shoals is rapidly closing the estuary of Meghna
and it may cause permanent water stagnation or flood in the haor
areas.
Meanwhile,
business activities in 50 commercial hubs of the region, including
Adampur, Abdullahpur, Kakailchheo, Ajmiriganj, Enayetganj,
Nabiganj, Makurliraniganj and Sherpur, have been on the wane due to
frequent disruption in transportation of goods.
Freight
charges have also multiplied in the region, pushing up the prices of
agricultural produces and other essential commodities.
The
experts feel that salvaging the boatmen as well as the fishermen of
the region from an impending crisis means immediate re-excavation of
the rivers.
|
