Mangroves thriving along Chitra's banks

Mangroves are coming to life on the Chitra river's banks and floodplains northwest of Bagerhat district, some 60 kilometres off the Sundarbans.

A recent visit along a four-kilometre stretch of Jahudanga, Arulia and Shrirampur villages in Chitalmari upazila revealed that various flora including Sundari, Golpata and Kewra have not only sprung up in huge patches on uninhabited parts of the chars but also crept up village yards.

In some parts, the vegetation is so dense that it gives the impression of a full-fledged mangrove forest. The trees are bent towards the water surface while their trunks are inundated -- like those in the Sundarbans.

No wonder the locals have already started calling it “Mini Sundarban”, though one should not expect to come across Sundarbans' wild animals.

It is the nature of most mangroves to disperse seeds by water while the sandy loam of the Chitra as well as the increase of salinity in water may have been responsible for the creation of the vegetation, according to experts.

Locals also recount that the vegetation has gradually taken a shape “very similar to that of the Sundarbans due to an exodus of plants from the Sundarbans over the last 20 years”.

The path of travel of the mangrove seeds is also traceable along the banks of the river, some 15 kilometres across Chitalmari, Fakirhat and Bagerhat sadar upazilas.

Ayub Ali, a boatman of Kharia Ghat, said, “The plants are growing by themselves. People are cutting down the plants and meeting their necessities, but the plants are growing again and again. The chars on both sides of the river are abound with these plants. It looks like the Sundarbans.”

Anil Ray, an elderly person of Arulia village, noted that the mangrove trees have spread along a 15-kilometre stretch of the river -- from the Godara embankment in Fakirhat upazila to sadar upazila.

He also noted that the vegetation was moving towards habitation due to frequent erosion of the river's eastern banks. “I feel happy seeing the lush greenery on the riverside. But at the same time, many of our ancestral lands have been eroded by the river moving eastward,” he said, stressing the need for steps to stop river erosion in the locality.

Talking to the news agency, newly appointed Divisional Forest Officer of the Sundarbans East Zone Md Saidul Islam said he has learned about it from various sources.

He also noted that the area was controlled by the district administration and he would take steps to conserve the new vegetation holding discussions with the deputy commissioner first.

Prof Mahmud Hossain of Khulna University's forestry and wood technology said he recently recorded 12 mangrove species on the banks.

“The seeds have been reaching the area with the tidal waves and giving birth to the vegetation. Further studies over the plants could be illuminating,” he said.

Prof Md Shah Alam Faizi, chairman of botany department, Bagerhat Government PC College, said the mangroves have been thriving because of some favourable conditions -- tidal flows, intrusion of saline water and increase of salinity in the soil.

Bagerhat Deputy Commissioner Md Jahangir Alam said he has been informed about the mangroves and would take necessary steps to protect it after consultation with Bangladesh Forest Department officials.