Canal grabbed for fish farming

A section of influential locals has grabbed a canal in Patuakhali’s Kalapara upazila and has been using it as a fish enclosure.

Local sources said the people of the upazila are troubled after losing their means of transport via the Pakhimara Canal as some people have set up net barrier in the canal to farm fish.

Nilganj union is an agriculture-rich area and Pakhimara Canal is the main route to transport and market agricultural products produced in the union.

According to local sources, the farmers of this area transport products worth Tk 100 crore via the canal annually.

However, recently, an influential group of people has started fish farming in the canal. They have blockaded the canal putting nets in it. Due to this boat movement through the canal has been restricted, forcing the farmers to find other means of transport.

Local farmers alleged that they have been harassed in various ways by the vested group of influential people after protesting the canal's closure.

The affected farmers have appealed to the district commissioner and Kalapara upazila nirbahi officer (UNO) seeking redressal.

The length of the Pakhimara Canal in the Nilgonj union of Kalapara upazila is about 8.5 kilometres and its width is about 500 feet. A vast agriculture-based township has developed in the surrounding area centring this canal.

Farmers here produce various crops using modern cultivation methods throughout the year. Farmers have opted for modern technologies like artificial pollination and mulching paper to grow vegetables even in the monsoon season. As a result, they produce various crops including tomato, carrot, pepper, Bombay pepper, watermelon, and red beet throughout the year.

And the Pakhimara canal is the main route to transport various agricultural materials and machinery, including fertilisers, as well as the agricultural products cultivated by hundreds of local farmers.

In the locality, small canals have been extracted next to the farmlands, which eventually connect to the Pakhimara canal. Due to this, after harvest, farmers can take their crops directly to the local market by boat which lowers their transportation costs significantly.

However, taking the lease of the waterbody for Tk 1.1 lakh under the name of Sonar Bangla Motsho Samabay Samity, the influential local group has stopped boat movement through the canal constructing a makeshift dam with bamboo and nets.

Zakir Hossain, a local farmer, said the people of this area used to go to different parts of the country in search of work a decade ago. Apart from this, due to the poverty and food scarcity in the area, incidents like theft and robbery were a daily occurrence.

“With the development of modern agriculture system in the locality centring the canal, people of Nilgonj union have gradually become self-sufficient. Now, most people in the union are involved in agriculture,” he said adding that restricting movement via the canal is a severe blow to the growing economy of the area.

He further added that transporting vegetables through dirt roads costs more than the production cost as well as takes a longer time to reach the markets.

Another local farmer, Shahin Majhi sold 20 bottle gourds for Tk 1,000 last week, after spending Tk 300 on labourers to transport them. He said transporting them via boat would cost him Tk 50 at most.

“Hundreds of poor farmers like me are forced to spend extra money on transportation which puts a strain on us. Besides, algae accumulated in the nets put in the canal will obstruct the water flow leading to waterlogging next monsoon,” he said, adding that they want a fair solution to this problem through the administration.

“Otherwise, the livelihood of hundreds of farmers will surely be at stake,” apprehended.

According to government sources, flowing canals cannot be obstructed to farm fish. Besides, as per the waterbody leasing policy, the people residing by the canal banks are supposed to have the right to fish in the canal. But the leasing of the Pakhimara Canal violates both rules.

Alamgir Hossain, president of Sonar Bangla Motsho Samabay Samity, said, "We are taking measures to resume the movement of boats."

He, however, did not respond to the query over why they have leased a flowing canal violating existing rules.

Kalapara UNO Shankar Chandra Baidya said he has recently visited the area. “It is a flowing canal and obstructing boat movement in it for fish farming is against the law. Urgent measures will be taken to remove these nets,” he said.

Patuakhali District Commissioner Mohammad Kamal Hossain said that they have received a written complaint from the marginal farmers of Nilgonj. The local administration has been instructed to investigate the matter and take necessary action.

The DC said that no one will be allowed to create obstacles that prevent farmers from cultivating and marketing agricultural products.