RAIPUR, LAXMIPUR, Nov 20: Polluted water is hampering fish cultivation in the Dakatia River in Raipur Upazila of the district.
The agriculture is also facing acute irrigation crisis.
Dakatia-Chandpur Irrigation Project (CIP) has not been getting tide water flow for about last 47 years. About 80 per cent fishes are set to disappear.
This dry time the water pollution has turned serious, causing immense suffering to dwellers along banks of the river. They are affected by different skin diseases.
CIP activities began in 1975 covering Raipur, Ramganj, Laxmipur Sadar (partial), Faridganj, Hymchar, and Chandpur Sadar (partial) upazilas in order to ensure overall developments including flood control, water extraction and irrigation services.
Dwellers in the project area said, once the Dakatia River and its linking canals were full of about 100 species of fishes, such as Ruhi, carp, mrigel, ayre, kali baus and boal.
River banking people would meet their family fish needs by catching fishes from the river with nets, Aanta, Tayta, and fish tacklers. Hundreds of fishers would earn their livelihood by fishing in the river.
Authorities concerned stopped the tide water flow by constructing Hajjimara Sluice Gate and Char Bagdi Navigation (boat ferrying) in the name of the water management.
These gates are kept closed for other time than the extraction time. Every year in the dry season most of the water is extracted out, and, then in the project area, 80 per cent canals turn waterless.
Fish fry breeding and fingerling production are seriously hampered in Raipur Fish Breeding Centre, country's biggest fish breeding centre.
Ajit Kumar Pal, senior assistant director of ICT branch of the Department of Fisheries-Dhaka, said, a guideline set of recommendations is under process to get final form and approval to use the sluice gates in agriculture and fishery-friendly ways.
CIP's Executive Engineer SM Refat Jamil said, the 58 kilometre (km) Dakatia River and 756 km canals are within the CIP area.
In the absence of rules after beginning of the project activities, the tide water flow has not been maintained through the sluice gate and the navigation gate, he added.
He further said, every year in the end of November, most of the water is extracted out of the project area for mechanical repairing beneath the Char Bagdi Pump House.
"It causes water drying in most canals. The river water also goes down. Despite that, we are trying that the project water does not get polluted," the official maintained.
Senior Scientific Officer of the Raipur Fish Breeding Centre Md Lutfur Rahman said, "For keeping closed these gates for a long time the water gets stranded and polluted. So, fish breeding is halted."
Raipur Upazila Fisheries Officer Emdadul Haq said, fish breeding is no longer taking place in CIP area. In CIP area fishes are cultivated at individual level, the official maintained.
