A canal dying
To stop erosion by the Karkhana and Pandob rivers, a group of local people have built an illegal dam in Varani Khal (canal) halting natural flow of the water at Sundarikathi village in Barishal's Bakerganj upazila.
Locals built the temporary structure using bamboo and tree branches in January, said Golam Morshed Khan, chairman of Dudhal union parishad (UP).
Due to construction of the illegal dam, the three-km-long canal connecting the rivers in the union is now completely blocked, said some villagers.
The canal has become almost dead due to obstruction of natural flow of the water, they said.
A number of houses and vast tracts of croplands have been washed away every year, said Zahir Molla, an erosion victim of Sundarikathi.
The canal eroded two sides of the village during every monsoon, said residents of the area, adding that due to this, they built the makeshift dam by collecting Tk 1,000 to Tk 2,000 from some 100 erosion victims each.
Some villagers put bamboo fences and tree branches across the canal to save thousands of people from river erosion during the rainy season, said locals.
Blocking of the canal to stop river erosion has been badly hampering irrigation for crop cultivation, said Rajib Shikder, a resident of Purbo Goma village.
Contacted, Assistant Commissioner (Land) Tariqul Islam said he has recently visited the area and found the makeshift dam in the canal.
It is totally illegal to hamper natural water flow of the canal, he said, adding, that locals have no right to block the water body.
Md Masud Khan, executive engineer of Roads and Highways Department in Barishal district, said it is not possible to stop river erosion by halting natural flow of the canal.
Bakerganj Upazila Nirbahi Officer (UNO) Madhobi Roy said it is totally illegal to hamper natural water flow of a canal.
They will take action in this regard, said the UNO.
They will take steps to free the canal immediately, said the assistant commissioner.
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