Irrigation hampered as canal turned into 'ponds',Bangladesh

BANGLADESH NEWS

An eight-kilometre irrigation canal in a remote coastal island under newly formed Rangabali upazila in the district has remained virtually unusable for the purpose for the last 15 years as unscrupulous people have divided it into over 100 ponds for fish cultivation.

Gazi Hafizur Rahman, former UP chairman of Chalitabunia union parishad (UP), is a lessee of around one-kilometre portion of the canal but he allegedly closed the whole canal and verbally leased portions of it to locals who dug ponds for fish cultivation there.

The canal flowing through Chalitabunia union is linked with the Decree River in the east and Darchira River in the west.

Most of the 10,000 people living in the coastal island are dependent on agriculture and there are over 10,000 acres of agri land inside flood control embankment being built around the island by the Water Development Board, local UP sources said.

Earlier local farmers used sweet water of Chalitabunia canal in their farmlands for better production of crops including aus and aman paddy but now they are deprived of the benefit due to closure of the canal, said Fazlur Rahman Howlader, chairman of Chalitabunia UP.

"Our agricultural lands are drying as we cannot lift water from the canal for irrigation in proper time. Former UP chairman Gazi Hafizur Rahman closed the canal. Our domestic animals like cows and buffalos also suffer for want of sweet water," said Md Helal, 50, a local farmer.

Litu Mia, another farmer said their agricultural lands get waterlogged during the rainy season in absence of drainage facilities due to closure of the canal.

Several other farmers made similar allegations but they requested anonymity in fear of the former UP chairman Gazi Hafizur Rahman, also president of union unit of BNP.

Noni Mufti, organising secretary of union unit of ruling Awami League, said, "I took lease of the canal from Jubo Unnayan office in 1994 for five years to cultivate fish. But in 1998 Gazi Hafizur Rahman took possession of the canal illegally although my lease period did not expire."

Then Gazi started realising money from locals by giving lease verbally for fish cultivation and the so-called lessees built dams and made ponds there, he added.

"I dug the pond after receiving lease from Gazi Hafizur Rahman," said local farmer Abdur Rahman, who made a personal pond by grabbing the canal in front of his house.

Al Amin, 40, UP member for ward No 8, is cultivating fishes in about one acre area of the canal in front of his house.

Declining to say how much money he paid for the portion, he said, "Gazi Hafiz is my uncle and I supervise all his activities in the area as he lives in Galachipa upazila headquarters."

When contacted, Gazi Hafizur Rahman said, "I leased the canal from the district fisheries office to cultivate fish and over 100 beneficiaries have been involved in the cultivation."

Denying the allegation of verbally leasing the canal portions in exchange of money, he said every beneficiary built dams on their own portions and are cultivating fish there.

He could not reply when this correspondent asked him whether the lease contract allows building over 100 dams that totally closed the canal.

A source of district fisheries office said Gazi Hafizur Rahman took lease of one km of the canal covering 7.50 acres of land from Fazil Madrasa to Sarder Bari in Chalitabunia in 2004 to cultivate fish under Flood Control Development Irrigation project by paying Tk 1,150 for per acre a year.

The lease contract does not allow him do anything that is harmful to agricultural activities.

Locals, however, alleged that Gazi grabbed the whole of eight-kilometre canal and turned it unusable for irrigational purpose.

When contacted, Iqbal Hossain, district Fisheries officer (DFO) of Patuakhali said, "It is illegal to receive money by giving lease verbally. If anybody submits complaint to my office about the alleged anti-lease contract activities, I will arrange proper investigation. I will take lawful action including cancellation of the lease if the lease-holder is found guilty."