The floodwaters in Feni appear to come to a cease in neighbouring Lakshmipur, a downstream district correct by which waters occupy been supposed to depart into the Bay of Bengal in a couple of days.
For nearly two weeks, tall tracts of areas correct by the district occupy been submerged in water. Lakshmipur Sadar upazila appears to be like to be deal with a tall water physique, whereas Ramganj and Raipur are overflowing with floodwaters.
In Ramgati and Kamalnagar, five unions occupy remained submerged for nearly one and a half of months, without a mark of the water receding. Locals are terming the flooding and waterlogging of the gap unheard of.
To attain why the floodwaters occupy come to a standstill in Lakshmipur, no topic being a downstream district that have to aloof investigate cross-take a look at the receding waters skedaddle alongside with the circulation towards the Bay of Bengal, The Commercial Customary has conducted an in-depth investigation.
Over the past few days, this correspondent has spoken with round 50 folk from varied upazilas to bag their first-hand experiences.
Climate skilled and journalist Rafiqul Islam Montu fully is of the same opinion with the experiences of the residents. “The coastal areas, surrounded by rivers and canals, succor because the ideal drainage route for the nation’s water to skedaddle alongside with the circulation out. Cyclones infrequently strike the fly, and excessive tides usually flood the save of residing for a couple of hours. Nonetheless, interior 5-6 hours, or a little bit of of longer, that water usually recedes,” he talked about.
Montu explained that the sole reason slack this prolonged flooding is land grabbing and obstruction of water our bodies in the gap.
Water trapped by embankments, fish enclosures
In areas discontinuance to the Meghna River, the river’s water stage is 8-10 feet under the embankments. Many agricultural fields alongside the Meghna banks are dry, without a water in investigate cross-take a look at. Nonetheless, lovely a little bit of of farther away, the drawback is fully utterly different, with water all over, increasing a stark distinction.
The Bhulua River, flowing from the Meghna River by Ramgati, Kamalnagar, Lakshmipur sadar, and Noakhali’s Subarnachar and sadar upazilas, converges at the Wapda canal in Lakshmipur sadar. Every other branch of the river flows extra into Noakhali. Along this 76-kilometre stretch of the river, every few stretches are obstructed by both a fishing acquire, a submerged embankment, a residential pathway, or a freeway main to a brick kiln.
A variety of styles of nets and embankments occupy trapped the water, making it no longer ability to transfer. In the Kodak Bazar to Azadnagar save of residing of Charporagacha union in Ramgati, some land grabbers occupy occupied sections of the Bhulua River and provided it to settlers.
These settlers occupy established fish enclosures and poultry farms in the river. The as soon as 500-metre-vast Bhulua River has been reduced to lovely 30 feet in width at a level. As a end result, water from 76 kilometres upstream is unable to drain by the shallow 30-foot channel.
On the eastern side of the Lakshmipur-Ramgati freeway, from Bhabaniganj to Torabganj Bazar, Musha Canal connects Wapda Canal at one pause and the Meghna River at utterly different. The canal, which is round 100 feet vast, has been fully blocked in the Char Monsa save of residing by tall roads constructed by nearby brick kilns.
The dinky river Dakatia flows from Cumilla, winding by Chandpur and Noakhali sooner than reaching Lakshmipur. Residents Azam Khan and Abdur Rahman Sumon talked about the river has been blocked by a total bunch of submerged and seen embankments discontinuance to Raipur Bazar.
Raipur Authorities Ladies’s College used to be even constructed on the riverbed of Dakatia. Influential locals occupy divided the river amongst themselves, the utilization of tall nets and water hyacinth barriers to cultivate fish.
Garbage blocking off canals
The ideal canal that directs water skedaddle alongside with the circulation from Chandpur’s Hajiganj and Noakhali’s Sonaimuri to the western Dakatia River is the Birendra Canal. Flowing by Ramganj upazila metropolis, the canal has change into clogged with a total bunch of tonnes of garbage, combating water from Sonaimuri from reaching the Dakatia River.
Mandari is a tall market located on the Lakshmipur-Choumuhani freeway. To the east of the market, the Mandari-Mollarhat Canal connects to the Rahmatkhali Canal. Inner 500 metres of the market, there isn’t any longer an fling of home left in the canal, which is fully stuffed with garbage, blocking off the skedaddle alongside with the circulation of water fully.
Along the Lakshmipur-Choumuhani freeway, the markets beside the Rahmatkhali Canal occupy all contributed a total bunch of tonnes of raze to the canals, filling them up.
Constant with the Native Authorities Department place of work of the district, there are 179 licensed markets in direction of Lakshmipur. As well to, there are over a hundred smaller markets. Many of the raze generated from these village markets is discarded into nearby canals.
Sluice gates occupied
Locals occupy taken over the sluice gate on the Ratachura Canal, a branch of the Bhulua River, and established a market there. As a end result, four out of six gates occupy been shut.
Equally, markets occupy been save of residing up by locals at the sluice gates of the Maulavi Bazar, Chowdhuribazar, and Torabganj East markets, blocking off these gates.
Constant with the Lakshmipur Water Sigh Board, there are 8 regulators and 23 sluice gates correct by varied canals in Lakshmipur. Nearly about all of them occupy been occupied, locals talked about.
What officials dispute
Govt Engineer Mohammad Nahiduzzaman of the Lakshmipur Water Sigh Board told TBS that moreover the three major rivers in Lakshmipur, there are ninety nine dinky and tall canals and their branches, with a total measurement of 498 kilometres.
Mohammad Ikramul Haque, govt engineer of the Native Authorities Engineering Department in Lakshmipur, told TBS that with reference to the total canals in Lakshmipur occupy been occupied in varied systems.
Previously fiscal yr, handiest three canals in Lakshmipur occupy been scheduled for renovation, covering approximately 7 kilometres, he talked about.
“Nonetheless, the renovation process confronted important challenges due to the components similar to encroachment by influential participants, boundary disputes gripping the Woodland Department’s trees, and difficulties in figuring out canal boundaries,” Haque talked about.
Abdullah Al Mamun, assistant engineer of the Lakshmipur Irrigation Division at the Bangladesh Agricultural Sigh Company, told TBS that from 2018 to 2024, they took care of 140 kilometres of diverse canals in Lakshmipur.
