Plots being sold on Mukteshwari River land in Jashore
James Abdur Rahim Rana, Jashore
There have been allegations that about 10 bighas of Mukteshwari River in Chanchra Union of Jashore Sadar Upazila are being filled up and sold for plots.
As that part of the river has been completely occupied, waterlogging in Beel Harina has taken a terrible shape, threatening the cultivation of Aman on thousands of bighas of land.
It has been seen on the ground that the river has been filled up by dumping soil between Chanchra Dakshinpara and Bhaturia Purbapara. The flow has been stopped by a dam at the northern end, and a signboard for plot sales has been hung there. Locals say that earlier, monsoon water and water from Jashore city used to flow southwards into Beel Harina on this route. Now, since the river is blocked, the water is only flowing through the Zia Canal, as a result of which the water from the Beel cannot flow out.
Local residents alleged that an influential group that has been occupying the river for a long time in the name of fish farming has secretly changed the land category and named it after itself. Now it is being sold in the form of plots. Locals and environmental organization BAPA have demanded the eviction of this encroachment and punishment of those responsible.
Locals said that the road east from Bhaturia Bazar in Chanchra Union of Jashore Sadar Upazila has gone towards Chanchra Dakshinpara. After going a little further on this road, a culvert will be seen. There is a body of water on the south side of the culvert. And the entire north side has been filled in and a signboard for selling plots has been hung. About 10 bighas of land have been occupied here by filling in the river. There is a river flowing on the north side of this land, and a dam has been built there. The Zia Canal is connected to the river above this dam. Basically, the Mukteshwari River has been occupied by taking advantage of the opportunity for the river water to flow through this Zia Canal.
According to relevant sources, the Mukteshwari River originates from Chaugacha Upazila of Jessore and ends at Bil Harina via Sadar Upazila. During the rainy season, the water from Jashore Sadar Upazila and a part of the city flows southwards through this serpentine river and falls into Bil Harina. In the early 1980s, a canal was dug along the Mukteshwari River on the plan of the then President Ziaur Rahman. This canal was taken eastwards from Chanchra Dakshinpara in Chanchra Union of Jashore Sadar Upazila via Satighata towards Dhakuria. It is known as 'Ziar Canal'. From here, the Mukteshwari River goes a few kilometers further south and is divided into multiple canals at Bil Harina.
Locals said that since the canal was cut, influential people have started to farm fish on lease in the lower part of Mukteshwari. Sometimes they took the lease and sometimes they occupied it and farmed fish, but the water flow was there. But a few months ago, a local influential group started filling the area from the north side of the culvert on the Bhaturia-Narayanpur road to the junction of the Zia canal by dumping soil. The entire area has been filled in and now a signboard for selling plots has been hung there.
Mobarek Hossain, a resident of Chanchra Dakshinpara, said, "There is a culvert on the road. There is a river on one side of the culvert; there is no river on the other side. Even a blind person can see it and say that there was a river here. But now it is being claimed as private land."
Tabibar Rahman, an elderly man from Bhaturia Purbapara, said, "I have planted jute in this river, bathed cows and goats. I have cultivated and lived with the river water. Now the plot is being sold by filling that river.
Firoz Ahmed, a resident of Bhaturia Narayanpur village, said, "In many places, there are complaints of encroaching on the river banks to build structures or encroaching on the river to cultivate fish. But here, the entire river has been encroached and filled. They claim that they own this land. But how the land of the river can be privately owned; we do not understand."
Old Kashem Morol, a resident of Bhaturia Purbapara, said that earlier during the monsoon, the upstream water, the water of Jashore city, used to flow into Beel Harina through Mukteshwari. After the Zia canal was cut, that water was divided into two and drained through the river and the canal. When the pressure of the upper water decreased, the water of the beel used to flow up through Mukteshwari and down through the Zia canal. Now, since Mukteshwari has been encroached along the middle, the upper water is flowing down only through the Zia canal. But the water of the beel is no longer able to go into that canal. As a result, the water of the beel and the water in the northern part of Manirampur, Beel Harina is now in a state of stagnation. Due to this waterlogging, it will no longer be possible to cultivate Aman rice on thousands of bighas of land.
Locals allege that the group that has been leasing this part of the river for a long time has secretly and illegally changed the category of this land. Then, through fraud, they have taken it in their own name. And now they are trying to sell that land.
Masud Rana of Bhaturia area said, "The Mukteshwari River exists on the map too. However, they are trying to fill it up and sell it. And we have to pay the cost of filling the river. Thousands of acres of land in the bill are waterlogged. Water is entering the houses by overflowing the bill. We demand that this illegal encroachment be immediately removed and the river's place be returned to the river."
Khandaker Azizul Haque Moni, convener of the Jashore district branch of Bangladesh Environmental Movement (BAPA), said, "A part of the Mukteshwari River in Chanchra has been filled up and plots are being sold. And the common people are in a miserable condition due to waterlogging. We demand from the administration that those involved in the illegal occupation of the river land should be given exemplary punishment.’
Meanwhile, the phone number given on the signboard for the sale of the land belongs to Nur Islam Nuru, a former peon of the Jashore Registry Office. When contacted on that phone number, Nuru claimed, ‘That land is privately owned. The owners of the land are Jamal, Kamal and Munna of that area. They have documents and names. That is why he is selling the land on their behalf.’
However, when asked for the phone numbers of the landowners named by Nuru, he refused to provide them, saying, ‘We have all the documents of that land. The land will be legally registered with the buyers.’
Palash Kumar Banerjee, Executive Engineer of Jashore Water Development Board, said, there is no chance of the river land going into private ownership. The matter will be investigated and necessary legal action will be taken.
