Chitra now merely a canal

Chitra river, flowing through the country's southwestern districts, is now on the verge of extinction due to rampant encroachment.

The river now looks like a narrow canal as several hundred structures have been set up on the banks on both sides of the river.

The 170-kilometre Chitra originates from Chuadanga's Darshana upazila and joins with Nabaganga River in Narail's Gazirhat.

The 57-kilometre part of the river is located in Jhenidah, said officials of Water Development Board (WDB).

Some people have excavated ponds, many built concrete structures, while others created farmlands on both sides of the river in Jhenidah.

Eighty-five-year-old Akbor Ali, a teacher of Government Naldanga Bhushan Pilot High School in Jhenidah's Kaliganj upazila, said, "Chitra used to have strong currents and much depth. Large boats used to ply the river, which used to get full to the brim during monsoon."

"Now even a small boat cannot go through it," he added.

Toybur Rahman (88), a resident of Kaliganj area, said, "We used to travel through this river on large boats when we were young. Many commercial boats used to ply the river as well."

During a recent visit, this correspondent saw that the riverbanks in Ganna bazar, Kaliganj upazila headquarters, Chaprail Bazar and Mongolpoyeta Bazar have been occupied by grabbers.

According to a government survey, the river was around 150-feet wide in Kaliganj.

It has now been narrowed down to around 30 to 40 feet, said sources at the land office.

Officials of Water Development Board in Jhenidah have recently made a list of eight grabbers.

They are -- Motiar Rahman, Ishahak Ali, Sirazul Islam, Liakot Ali, Mizanur Rahman, Mofiz Uddin, Afsar Ali and Md Abdul Ali. All of them are residents of Singdha village.

Of them, Motiar Rahman has excavated a pond at the village grabbing the riverbank, according to the list.

Contacted, Motiar denied he allegations and said, "I did not encroach the riverbank. I have excavated a pond on my own land."

Md Abdul Ali said, "I have excavated a pond on my ancestral land. If the government wants, they can resurvey the land. If any portion of my pond lies on the riverbank, I will leave the land."

The correspondent contacted the others on the list, who also came up with similar statements.

Meanwhile, environmentalists demanded  immediate government action to evict grabbers to protect the river.

"The list of eight grabbers is a farce. Several hundreds of people have encroached the riverbank. We demand a proper list and drives to evict the grabbers," said Shibu Pada Biswas, convener of Nadi Bachao Andolon.

Bangladesh Poribesh Andolon (Bapa) general secretary Sharif Jamil said the riverbank should be much wider. "If any structure is set up within this area, it should be evicted."

Contacted, Jhenidah Additional Deputy Commissioner (Revenue) Rajibul Islam Khan said, "We will soon conduct drives to evict the illegal structures. Besides, the government has taken a new project to re-excavate the river."