Water hyacinth clogs Kaptai Lake

A journey by boat on the country’s largest Kaptai Lake is no longer a fun.

Boats carrying tourists on a joy ride get stuck up in the middle of the lake, surrounded by hills. Locals commuting by boats complain of wasting productive hours as the journey gets terribly slow.

For all their sufferings they blame an unusual culprit: water hyacinths.

The ambience of the man-made lake is under threat as it has been covered with the prolific weeds.

The unabated growth of the invasive aquatic plants is not only hampering operation of water transports (such as launches, speed boats and engine boats) but also threatening fish and marine resources and polluting its water.

According to experts and locals the water of Kaptai Lake has been severely polluted with water hyacinths. Local residents are getting infected with various diseases by using the water of the lake, they said.

Visiting the area this week UNB correspondent found a large swathe of the beautiful lake clogged by water hyacinths.

Seen from a distance, it looks like a playground full of small green grass. But no, it’s not a playground, its water hyacinth, he found.

The communication with seven of the ten upazilas of the district is done mainly by this lake. Kaptai Lake with an area of 730 sq km surrounds the district like a net.

Life in Rangamati city is also being disrupted due to the water hyacinth accumulated in the lake. Snakes and mosquitoes have also settled here. The menace of insects has also increased.

Especially, the place where water hyacinth spread the most is the Sublang Channel. Surrounded by hills, one has to visit beautiful Subalang waterfall after crossing this place which is a must-see destination for tourists visiting Rangamati.

According to the locals, every year during the monsoon, water hyacinths grow because of onrush of water from the hills along the border and create garbage in the lake.

These water hyacinths also gather in the town’s lakeshore market places when the water level of Kaptai Lake rises. As a result, farmers from far and wide suffer a lot to sell their products. A large number of small and big engine-driven boats from Rangamati Sadar to Kaptai Upazila Jetighat, Bilaichhari, Jurachhari, Langdu, Borokol, Baghaichhari, Farua, Horinchhara and other places every day. Besides, cargo boats ply on this route during the weekly market day.

Moreover, a large number of tourists cross this route to visit Rangalamati’s Subalang Waterfall and Bilaichhari Upazila’s various springs during this season.

For instance, on September 10, police rescued seven tourists as they got stuck in an engine boat in the Kaptai Lake after they had made a distress call to the national emergency service number 999.