Water hyacinth clogs Kaptai Lake
Waterways in the district are becoming clogged up due to alarming increase of water hyacinth in Kaptai Lake, causing immense suffering to thousands of people in the six upazilas of the district.
“Due to the water hyacinth, it now takes one to two hours longer than usual to reach the destination by boat,” said Milton Chakma, 34, a boatman.
Visiting the lake on Friday, this correspondent found some country boats waiting to cross on both sides of the lake near Macche Para, Suvolong, Sahos Banda and Charihong areas under Bondhuk Bhanga and Suvolong unions. They had to cross one behind the other due to the water hyacinth.
Students and locals have been suffering for the last five years due to the increase of water hyacinth, and emergency patients face huge problems to go to the union hospital.
“The increase of water hyacinth in the lake began around seven year ago,” said Naba Ranjan Chakma, 40, newly elected member of Bondhuk Bhanga Union Parishad.
Soanli Chakma, a Class VI student at Bondhuk Bhanga High School, said, “We normally go to school by crossing the lake by boat from our village in around 20 minutes. But now it takes double the time due to increase of water hyacinth in the lake.”
Sadhon Moni Chakma, 38, of Charihong village under the union, said, “We can't go to the weekly market due to this problem.”
Md Masudul Hasan, deputy manager of Bangladesh Fisheries and Development Corporation (BFDC), Rangamati, said the increase of water hyacinth can cause loss of reproductive capacity of fish, resulting in a decrease in the production of fish in Kaptai Lake.
Suchurita Chakma, assistant professor Department of Botany, Rangamati Government College, said if water hyacinth covers the top of the lake, the aquatic plants and fish will suffer due to lack of oxygen. As a result they will not be able to produce food.
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