Irrigation water supply on croplands in the Ganges-Kobadak (GK) project commanding area under Bangladesh Water Development Board (BWDB) in Jhenaidah are under threat as two thousand grabbers had illegally occupied the canals.
They had set encroachment on the canal beds and occupied the side and surrounding areas of the canals. Some of the occupiers had dag mini ponds in the canal beds to cultivate fish that has been badly hampering year-round water supply top croplands, said the farmers.
When a number of media activists had visited Nityanandapur area in Shailkupa of Jhenaidah witnessed the canal leads to River Kumar from from Nityanandapur Baor through Bhabanipur and Bakri was occupied by a political leader and ex union parishad chairman Mafizur Rahman tree years back. He had constructed a dam that has been barring smooth water supply to croplands.
The media activist also witnessed about a hundred shops and business establishments were constructed on both sides of the irrigation canals at Kulbaria Bazer in Harinakundu upazila. The shops constructed about 20 years were given rent to others where the owners were earning a lot every month. Huge pucca and semi-pucca shops and business establishments were also constructed at both sides of the GK Project irrigation canal at Sakharidah Bazer in same upazila. The locals have been occupying irrigation canal lands with a competition, locals said.
A number of occupiers when contacted said they were compelled to occupy the BWDB canal beds and banks as there was no enough land for running business in the market.
According to a source related to BWDB in Jhenaidah said the 968 kilometre length canals are existed where 214 are irrigation canals and remaining 142 water discharging canals in the district. Each canal has 50 to 120 feet wide space on the both sides to conducting visit and monitoring the daily activities. But about 90 percent of the lands on the sides and beds out of total 7,500 acres were alleged occupied by the influential in past decades. It had created a great trouble for supplying smooth water for irrigation, discharging excessive rainwater and movement of vehicles as required.
BWDB sources said they had evicted above a hundred illegal establishments at Katlagari Bazer in Shailkupa and Satbridge area in Harinakundu of Jhenaidah in 2022. Still over two thousand occupiers to be evicted, they source said.
BWDB executive engineer (XEN) in Jhenaidah Ranjan Kumar Das when contacted admitted the illegal occupation of his lands in the district. He said they are not in a position to conduct eviction drives and other legal activities faster for the acute crisis of adequate manpower for a long. They (BWDB) had already made a list of the occupiers and preparing to conduct drives at an early time. XEN said.
