The Mayur, one of the main freshwater rivers of Khulna, is at death throes due to continuous encroachment and unchecked pollution.

Rapid growth of water-hyacinth has turned the 22-km river flowing beside the southwestern side of the city into a bane for local people, as they're unable to use the water for any purpose for years, said locals.

Most of the city corporation's waste is released into the river through approximately 26 drains. As a result, around one lakh people adjacent to KCC and surrounding villages are being deprived of the water resource.

The Mayur flows through Alutola, Nirala,Gallamary, Boyra, Dayana, Arongghata, Bildakatia. Its southern mouth is connected to the Rupsha river at Alutala gate of Batiaghata  upazila and the other to the Bildakatia of Dumuria upazila.

Photo: Habibur Rahman

Visiting different points of the Mayur recently, including Boyra Cremation area, Sonadaga bypass bridge, Gallamari, Rayer Mahal and Dayana, it was seen that 20 small and big drains in different parts of the city are directly connected to the river. Apart from this, waste from slaughterhouses in the Gallamari area of the city, markets and various farms along the river fall directly into the river.

In 1986, a sluice  gate was built in  Alutala area of Batiaghata,  to save the agricultural lands from saline water and tidal surge. Presently, the sluice gate cannot even drain out water.

Palash Das, a resident of Boyra Das para, said river, once a storehouse of freshwater fish and a helping hand for agriculture, has now become a water-hyacinth riddled and severely polluted waterbody.

Many villagers of Batiaghata and Dumuria, along with city dwellers used to earn a living by fishing, while farmers were blessed with good yields, he said.

Salma Begum, a local, said they cannot use the water for household works or bathing as it has become unfit for use, adding that they often suffer from skin diseases if they use the water.

According to the KCC, a technical committee was formed in February 2019 to compile a list of illegal grabbers. They listed of 362 establishments, constructed by 470 individuals and organisations occupying the river and 26 adjoining canals.

Nuruzzaman Talukder, member secretary of the river eviction committee and KCC's state officer, said every week, they visit the river area.

Anyone who tried to occupy the river land was evicted. In the last one and a half years, no one has occupied the river anew, he claimed.

Asked, Abdul Aziz, chief conservancy officer of KCC, said several waterbodies, including the Mayur, would be re-excavated soon.

Photo: Habibur Rahman

In September 2016, the Khulna office of Department of Environment sent a letter to the DG of the department, pointing out that unplanned waste management is responsible for the declining oxygen levels in the river and recommended improving Mayur river's water quality.

They are yet to get a reply in this regard, said Saifur Rahman, director of DoE, Khulna.

Abdullah Harun Chowdhury, professor of environmental sciences of KU, said if the dissolved oxygen (DO) level in the water drops below 6 mg per litre, small fish do not survive. In the Mayur River, the DO stays at zero for most of the year.