Pransayar Canal in Satkhira turns into a wasteland

SATKHIRA, June 04: Once lifeline of the Satkhira town, the Pransayar Canal has turned into a wasteland due to rampant encroachment and waste dumping.

The canal flowing through Satkhira town was once one of the most important waterways for transportation of goods in the region.

At present, garbage is being dumped where and there in the canal. The authorities appear to be quite indifferent to what is going on with the canal.

Unable to bear the stench from the garbage piles, pedestrians often walk along the nearby roads with handkerchief pressed on their noses.

Makeshift shops on the canal banks dump trashes directly into the canal, which often give out bad odour after rotting.

Locals said Zamindar Prananath Roy Chowdhury dug the Pransayar Canal in 1850 to facilitate transportation for trade and commerce and development of the town.

The Pransayar Canal was the main means of waterway communication with various places including Khulna, Barisal, Dhaka and Kolkata.

The internal communication of the district was facilitated by the water body which was named Pransayar Canal after the landlord, Prananath Roy Chowdhury.

Meanwhile, seeking recovery and conservation of the Pransayer Canal, Supreme Court lawyer Advocate S Hasanul Banna on behalf of the Environmental Lawyers Association (BELA) issued a notice on April 17.

Secretaries of the ministries of land and environment, forest and climate change; chairman of the National River Protection Commission; director general of Bangladesh Water Development Board; director general of the Directorate of Environment, deputy commissioner and superintendent of police, Satkhira, Satkhira Sadar upazila nirbahi officer (UNO), mayor of Satkhira municipality, executive engineer of Satkhira Water Development Board (PUBO) Division-1 and deputy director, Environment Directorate, Satkhira were made respondents to the notice.

According to the notice, the Pransayar Canal flowing through Satkhira town is located in Katia Mauza.

The length of the canal connecting Payla and Morichchap rivers is 13 km. The canal originates from the Betna River and joins Khejurdanga canal coming from the other side (upstream) at Thanaghata in the town and falls into the Mirichchap River, keeping its name unchanged.

This is one of the communication channels of Satkhira town. The canal is one of the drainage outlets of the town.

Although the authorities of Satkhira Water Development Board (PUBO) Division-I prepared a list of 820 illegal encroachers and 168 illegal structures in 2019, this Pransayer Canal of Satkhira is still not on the list.

Water of the canal is being polluted by dumping non-biodegradable and harmful waste including polythene on its both sides.

Cattle blood and other wastes are constantly dumped into the canal by unscrupulous slaughterers in Sultanpur Barobazar of the town.

According to the Department of Environment, drains of markets and neighboring residential areas are connected to the canal.

Household waste is regularly dumped into the canal. As a result, the canal has lost its natural features and turned into a rotten pond.

Al Amin Sardar, who was walking along the road on the west side of the canal, said, hundreds of people walk along the road beside the river every day. They have to press nose with handkerchief failing to bear odour.

Apart from the residents of the area around the canal, the Borobazar traders and other businessmen of the town throw garbage creating foul-smelling environment. As a result, the environment of Satkhira town is getting polluted and common people are becoming sick.

A woman named Tahera Akhter said, "We have seen launches in the historical Pransayar Canal of Satkhira town when I was a child. But with the passage of time, that canal has now turned into a drain. Garbage is constantly being dumped in it."

"The water of the canal is rotting. We the people who live on the canal embankment are in big trouble. We can't stay at home amid the rotten smell floating in the air. Children are getting sick as the sluice gates on both sides of the canal are closed and water cannot flow. There is a strong smell from the water. We are getting sick," she added.

Environmental activist Sakibur Rahman Babla said, "Foul smell has been spreading from the water of the Pransayar Canal for a long time. One has to walk with a handkerchief on the nose while moving along the canal road. The rotten water of the canal is spreading a terrible stench in the air. I strongly demand that the district administration and the municipality take immediate steps to create water flow in the Pransayar Canal as soon as possible."

Human rights activist Madhav Chandra Dutta said, "We demand legal action against those who are turning the Pransayar Canal into a wasteland."

Acting Mayor of Satkhira Municipality Feroz Hasan said, "People are being told not to throw garbage into the canal. But no one is listening. Talking to the deputy commissioner, steps will be taken immediately in this regard."

Deputy Commissioner Mohammad Humayun Kabir said, "Residence on the Pransayar Canal bank will have to be banned by issuing a notice. If it doesn't give a result, I see no other option but to conduct a mobile court. Immediate measures will be taken to save the existence of the canal."

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