The Mathabhanga River flows through Kushtia, Meherpur and Chuadanga districts. This once-prosperous river is now in shambles. It seems that an invisible force called ‘Komarbandh’ has taken away all its beauty and youth. Today, only the fishing nets of influential people are found along this main tributary of the Padma River. The source of Kumar, Bhairab, Chitra and Nabaganga is Mathabhanga. The current condition of this river has brought bad times for other rivers.
Prothom Alo reports that more than 72 kilometers of the 135-kilometer-long Mathabhanga River falls within Chuadanga district. Although it is 9.5 meters deep during the rainy season, it reduces to just 1.25 meters during the dry season. As a result, far from boating, many parts of the river dry up. And taking this opportunity, influential people on both banks of the river are building numerous embankments using tree branches, bamboo, and Chinese wire mesh. The unbridled expansion of these embankments from Taltala to Sultanpur and even Alamdanga is severely obstructing the flow of water in the river.
The simple confession of the owners of the girder dams like Ashadul Islam, ‘I didn’t know about the injustice of girder dams. People give them, so I will give them to fish. The government will remove the gillnets.’ Is this ignorance or indifference the reason for the destruction of our natural resources? These dams are not only taking away the navigability of the river, but are also disrupting the natural life cycle of fish. Even though fish take refuge in these dams thinking them to be a sanctuary, the way they end up being hunted hinders the reproduction of fish.
Despite many movements to save the Mathabhanga, there is no effective initiative from the administration to save the river. Our future generations will have to suffer the consequences of this silence and indifference. The concerned people say that if the Mathabhanga cannot be saved, its tributaries and rivers will also disappear from the map one day. The people of this town will have to suffer the long-term negative impact of this.
The local administration should immediately take effective measures to remove this embankment and strict laws should be formulated and enforced so that no one can do such illegal work in the future. The importance of the Mathabhanga is immense as it has many tributaries. As a result, this river demands extra attention for its protection. We hope that the relevant authorities, including the administration of Chuadanga, will be proactive in this regard.
Source: Prothom Alo
