The 11-kilometre-long Bhola canal, once a vital waterway for trade and irrigation, has become a source of distress for Bhola city and district due to rampant encroachment and pollution. 

Bhola municipality authorities said the canal, which previously facilitated goods transport by boat, has lost its flow over the past six years. Waste accumulation and narrowing from encroachment have rendered it unusable, affecting thousands of residents. 

Farmer Hanif Sharif from Bhola Sadar upazila said, "The canal once provided water for irrigation, but now it holds only one to two feet of water."

This has left about 2,000 hectares of farmland in Sadar upazila without sufficient irrigation. 

The Water Development Board said the canal's main section spans 11 kilometres, with an additional 40-45 kilometres of branches connecting the Tetulia and Meghna rivers. The last excavation was carried out in 1980. 

Encroachment and indiscriminate waste dumping have drastically reduced the canal's width, which was once over 50 feet but now measures just 10-20 feet in some areas. Waste from slaughterhouses, vegetable markets, hospitals, and restaurants has worsened the canal's condition. 

Local businesses are also affected. Grocer Md Babul said, "We now spend an extra Tk 50-60 on each sack of goods as traders can no longer transport them by boat."

Rice trader Erfanur Rahman added, "Transporting rice through the canal now takes seven days instead of two." 

Bhola municipality administrator Md Mizanur Rahman said a survey by the Upazila Land Office identified 140 encroachers. "We asked them to vacate voluntarily by January 7, but no action was taken. A crash programme to evict them is underway," he said. 

Rahman said efforts are being coordinated with the WDB and district administration to restore the canal's flow.

WDB Superintendent Engineer Md Hasanuzzaman said a design proposal will be sent to the Ministry of Water Resources once encroachments are cleared.

Excavation work will begin after approval, he added.