Zakir Azad, Cumilla

Titus River has been facing existence and it has already turned arable land.

"Titas is the name of a river" from Advait Mallavarman's timeless novel and famous film director Hrithik Ghatak's film.

Titus describes there the rushing waters, the bosom waves and the lively exuberance. These words can only be found in that novel now. The real picture is different now. This Titus is now only history, only memory. Titas river and its branches flowing through the Muradnagar upazila of Cumilla are now the misery of the people of Muradnagar. Already, the river has lost its existence after being filled in most areas of the upazila. At present, the water has dried up and the river has turned into arable land. Thousands of hectares of Iri-boro plantations in the upazila are under threat due to lack of irrigation. On the other hand, thousands of fishermen families in 3 upazilas have become unemployed due to not being able to catch fish.

Boro paddy cultivation is being carried out across the wide river bed by occupying the local land robbers as landless people. Therefore, the Titus River, which has dried up in the Muradnagar Upazila region, has become one of the reservoirs for paddy cultivation. The Titus River, once a stream, has long been closed to navigation due to navigability. Over time, encroachment and pollution and the accumulation of sediment every year has gradually filled the Titas and now it has become a dead river. Titus river in crisis of existence, has taken the form of arable land.

On the surface, it can be seen that from the northern part below the Muradnagar-Homna connection bridge of Titas river to the mouth of Gomti in Daskandi Bazaar of Titas upazila in the southern part, about 12 km has dried up. About 5 km has been occupied in different parts by bisecting the river. As the fishermen have become unemployed due to the lack of water in the river, the local farmers are in trouble due to the lack of irrigation water. In the upper part of the river, the rice seed bed and the rice planting in the river bed can be seen. It seems that the river does not exist. As a result, various species of fish and aquatic animals are disappearing.

Fishermen fishing in the Titus River said that once upon a time, the people of Titus Par lived in the sound of the launch and the voices of the sailors of the big sailing boats. Now it takes a different form. People from Dhaka, Narayanganj, Narsingdi, Muradnagar, Homna, Nabinagar, Bancharampur upazilas used to bring goods to and fro by launching. Launch was the only mode of transportation then. People of the area use engine-powered boats after the launch stops. Due to the filling up of Titus River, there are fears that it will also slowly close. The fishermen community of the area has become unemployed, many have left this profession to other professions in order to survive.

MuslaUddin, a farmer of Ramchandrapur village, said that the people living on the banks of the river are in dire need of water for irrigation, bathing and household work. Besides, the fishermen have no opportunity to catch fish in the river as the water has dried up. The fishermen of the riverside villages are also in dire straits. The people of the area demand that this river should be excavated on an urgent basis.

Muradnagar Upazila Fisheries Officer (A.D.) Mosammat Najma Akhtar said, "Now there is not much water in rivers, canals and lakes." Fish are not being caught. Fishermen are now moving to other professions. Some are making a living by farming fish in ponds. Due to this, fish extraction in open water bodies is stopped. The quality of life of fishermen is being disrupted. Renovation of the river has become very important. If it is mined, thousands of fishermen families will benefit from it.

Upazila Agriculture Officer Pavel Khan Pappu said that three types of paddy are cultivated in this upazila throughout the year. Among them, Boro has 17 thousand 750 hectares, Aush has 7 thousand 500 hectares, Ropa Aman has 5 thousand 990 hectares of land. Farmers cultivate a total of 31 thousand 240 hectares of land. Among them, about two and a half thousand hectares of land remain uncultivated in Sadar, Ramchandrapur North and Srikail Unions of the upazila due to lack of irrigation system. But once upon a time the water of Titas River met the needs of farmers in that area.

In this regard, Cumilla Water Development Board Executive Engineer Khan Mohammad Waliuzzaman said, the matter has come to our attention. How important is the dredging of the river? A team has been formed to investigate the matter and submit a report. Once the report is in hand, the next course of river excavation will be informed.