Shikalbaha on deathbed
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Shikalbaha Canal, a major waterbody in south Chattogram directly connected to Karnaphuli and Sangu rivers, is struggling to survive amid rampant pollution.
Waste from hundreds of dairy farms in Karnaphuli upazila and its surrounding areas is being dumped into this canal for over a decade.
Visiting the area recently, this correspondent saw dairy farms continuously dumping cow-dung and urine directly into the canal through pipes and drains. The unbearable stench coming from the untreated waste polluted the whole canal.
The act is a punishable offence under the Environment Conservation Act.
"The pollution depleted the canal's fish to such an extent that we hardly find any fish anymore," said Mahabubul Alam, a seasonal fisherman.
According to the livestock department, dairy farmers are rearing over 25,000 cattle on 600 farms in the upazila, producing 3,000 tonnes of dung and 2 lakh litres of urine daily.
However, only 50 farms have in-built waste treatment plants.
Shikalbaha union's Shah Islamia Dairy Farm's owner Habibur Rahman said, "We are forced to dump the waste water in the canal as we have no waste treatment facility on our farm."
The canal protects three upazilas during monsoons by draining away floodwater, while thousands of farmers use its water for irrigation, according to the Water Development Board.
The waterbody is important, as the country's first hydraulic elevator dam, and many industries located in the three upazilas are situated beside it.
Contacted, Ferdous Anwar, deputy director of the Department of Environment in Chattogram, said, "We failed to take proper legal action against polluters due to our manpower shortage."
"We have no branch office in Karnaphuli upazila, so it's not possible to constantly monitor the entire area with the small staff of our district office," he said.
"However, we have already fined several people and stopped giving clearance to farms without waste management plants," he added.
Aliur Rahman, general secretary of Movement to Protect Rivers and Canals of Chattogram, said Sangu and Karnaphuli rivers are also being polluted along with the canal, as both rivers are connected to this waterbody.
In 2022, the livestock department initiated the construction of a central plant in Karnaphuli upazila for making compost from cow dung to mitigate pollution. This initiative, however, has yet to see the light.
"We are working to set up a central plant, as the problem of pollution will not be solved without it," said Rumon Talukder, upazila livestock officer. "We are also encouraging farmers to set up biogas plants to use the farm waste. Some of them have already installed it," he added.
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