Water hyacinth prevents vessel movement in Dhonagoda River

CHANDPUR, Nov 11: A large quantity of water hyacinths formed a dense mat in a 10 kilometre-stretch of Dhonagoda River from Kalipur to Kalirbazar area in Chandpur's Matlab Uttar.
As much as 20,000 people, who primarily worked as fishermen, or boatmen in the area, were unable to do their work properly for years.
They are completely unable to stay in their profession now as the condition worsened in the past few months, according to locals. Due to the accumulation of the aquatic plant, vessel movements also remained blocked in Dhonagoda Boatghat, Durgapur, Rayerkandi,Banglabazar, Masuakhal, Kalirbazar, Nandalalpur, Baishpur, Torki, Gazipur, Shahebbazar, Shahpur, and Nayergaon Boatghat.
During a visit at the Beltoli area near the Beltoli Bridge in Matlab Uttar Upazila, this correspondent saw teenagers playing football and volleyball on the thick mats of water hyacinths, while bulkheads carrying sand and goods remained stuck in the midst of the river. Locals say the vessels have been there for the past 10 to 12 days. Marginal boatmen, who used to ferry passengers, including students, elderly and pregnant patients across the river, have been facing financial hardships.
Beltali village residents Ibrahim Mia, Omar Faruque, Bablu Mia, Sagor Hossain, and Md Shahjahan Mia said the river has "lost navigability" due to the lack of dredging for years.
Talking to the FE, Dhonagoda School & College Principal Md Faruqul Islam echoed the same complaints and called upon the authorities concerned to take quick steps in this regard and mitigate the sufferings of people.

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