Due to lack of water, Ichhmati’s river appearance is fading (Bangladesh)
The Ichamati river, Munshiganj, Bangladesh, at once, it could hear day and night the sirens of launches and ships in this river. Due to the connection of the Ichamati with the Padma River, the river had a strong current.
Due to the intensity of the current, people’s houses, bazaars, and other institutions went under the river. In 2000, a 15 km embankment with riverbank protection work was built to protect people’s homes from River erosion.
However, due to the lack of required numbers sluice gates in that embankment, water scarcity has occurred even during the monsoon season from Bandura in Nawabganj Upazila of Dhaka to the Kanshiakhali.
According to sources in the Bangladesh Water Development Board (BWDB), a 15 km embankment was constructed from Aurangabad in Doha to Hatipara Bankkhuri in Manikganj in the fiscal year 1999-2000 to protect the river from erosion and flooding. The dam is known as the Dhaka District South Protection embankment.
However, the embankment has now become the cause of the death of the Ichamati river. With inefficiency and lack of planning of the Bangladesh Water Development Board, the Ichamati is now on the verge of extinction due to not installing a sluice gate at the junction of the Ichamati-Padma river and not dredging the river for many years.
Hence, Ichhmati’s appearance is getting lost due to a lack of water. About 25 thousand members of the local 5000 fisherman families have been affected by this.
Thousands of people related to the river have become unemployed. And it has had an adverse effect on Dohar-Nawabganj, Munshiganj’s Sirajdikhan and Manikganj’s Harirampur upazilas of Dhaka district.
Voluntary organizations like Kanshiakhali Beribandh Raksha Manch, Save the Society and Thunderstorm Awareness Forum, Ichamati Bachao Andolan, and residents have demanded the construction of a sluice gate in the main river, but the authorities have always shown indifference.
Besides, there are markets or private clinics near the river banks. The waste of these institutions constantly ends in the river. As a result, the environment and river water are polluted at all times.
Piles of waste and garbage from clinics or markets accumulate on the river bed; one cannot even go near the river due to the rotten smell. The neglected Ichamati has now become a garbage dump with the river blocked.
A human rights activist in Nawabganj, who did not want to be named, said clinics or market owners deliberately pollute the river water. However, the administration is not taking it seriously. The administration should take legal action on the matter as soon as possible.
Ichhamati river is in bad condition due to a lack of water flow. The river is now full of water hyacinths.
Due to the water hyacinths, the boating committee of several places, including the Ichamati river, is in doubt if they will be able to celebrate the traditional boat race. The Locals are also disappointed with the condition of the river.
