Indiscriminate encroachment and filling up of canals in the district have threatened agriculture and natural habitat of fish.

 “Large areas of agricultural land remain unused for lack of irrigation during the dry season due to filling up of canals,” said Sheikh Abu Bakar, district deputy director (DD) of the Department of Agriculture Extension (DAE).

There are 489 canals in four upazilas of the district -- 61 in Kathalia, 125 in Nalchhity, 151 in Rajapur and 152 in Jhalakathi Sadar, according to DAE.

About 19,990 hectares of cultivated land have been badly affected as the farmers use the canals for irrigating their lands, Bakar said.

An enclosure has been erected on the Barokathalia canal in Kathalia upazila. Photo: M Jahirul Islam Jewel

Fish are facing adversity as their breeding grounds in the canals are being filled up, said Pritish Kumar Mallik, deputy director (DD) of fisheries in the district. 

“The fish of indigenous species will not survive if we cannot save the canals,” he added.

Two hundred-seventy-two canals need to be re-excavated immediately for their survival, both officials said. 

“Canals are the source of irrigation for agriculture in the dry season,” said Md Riaz Bahadur, agriculture officer of Rajapur.

“I used to grow watermelon every year, but I could not do so for the last four seasons due to water crisis,” said Belal, a farmer at South Rajapur. 

Fisherman Morshed who catches fish in several canals of the area, told this correspondent that the number of indigenous fish has decreased drastically during the last few years.

These canals were widely used for communication by the villagers and farmers for carrying their harvest, but they are drying up, farmers and fishermen said.   

 “I do not see anything wrong in grabbing the canals as many people are doing so,” said a grabber at Rajapur.   

“We are going to conduct drives to recover the grabbed canals very soon, said Deputy Commissioner Md Hamidul Haque. He said he had already instructed all the upazila nirbahi officers of the district to prepare a report on canal grabbing.