River grabbed in Patuakhali

Encroachers have built several hundred illegal structures on the banks of the Shibbaria River choking the fishing port at Alipur and Mohipur in Patuakhali. Photo: Star

Shibbaria River in Kalapara upazila of Patuakhali is getting narrower day by day as influential people are out to grab it by building structures on both sides.
Nearly 700 structures have been built over the years, while more are under construction on the 20-km river, which joins the Bay of Bengal in Kuakata.
In a recent visit to the areas, this correspondent found concrete structures erected on Mohipur, Alipur, Chaplee Bazar and Laxmi Bazar along the river bank.

Construction going on unabetted as of yesterday. Photo: Star

The river plays an important role in the local economy. Fishermen used to count on the river to take shelter during floods, cyclones and other disasters. But it is losing its navigability these days due to indiscriminate grabbing.  
Fishermen said they could not navigate their fishing trawlers into the river.
They also complained that they were facing troubles to reach the marketplaces at Mohipur and Alipur, famous for hilsa trading in the areas, due to the encroachment inside the river.  
“The river will be unfit for use if the government does not take immediate steps to stop the grabbing,” Fazlu Gazi, president of the Mohipur Fish Traders' Association, told The Daily Star.
Kazi Abul Hossain, an alleged grabber of the river, claimed he had built a shop on the land that he bought from another local man. He said he had the documents.
Some others also voiced the same.
Asked, Mahbubur Rahman, assistant commissioner (land) of Kalapara, said they would take steps soon to evict illegal structures from the riverside.