‘Haors are no longer haors’

Q. What is happening to our haors (the vast wetlands in the country's north-eastern region) and how has that impacted the flood situation?

A. Haors are no longer haors. While visiting the areas, you will see many embankments, crop protection dykes and roads that have been constructed. But nowhere, the water-based networks of the haors have been considered.

As a result, many small rivers have died, and there are no links between small rivers and big rivers in many places. Thirteen thousand kilometres of roads have been constructed in Sylhet and Sunamganj where the LGED [Local Government Engineering Department] did not maintain hydrology. Now most of them [ the roads] are damaged, and some are obstructing the floodwater [from receding].

Q. What else causes the slow receding of floodwater?

A. Another important factor is that all the water goes to the Meghna, but the construction of three bridges at Bhairab created a bottleneck. So, the water coming down from upstream is receding slowly.

Q. Many condemn the filling up of rivers as a key reason behind the flood situation and demand their dredging. What is happening with the rivers of the upper Meghna basin?

A. If the natural flow of water continues in the river, it will eventually dredge itself. But that's the problem with 46 transboundary rivers and creeks from India. All these rivers and creeks have narrowed down after entering Bangladesh while it was supposed to be otherwise. This is because India built barrages or implemented hydraulic projects on almost all rivers upstream.

As a result, these waterbodies no longer have regular flows, resulting in siltation, and in the absence of water, parts of rivers are being encroached amid poor monitoring.

Q. We have a Joint Rivers Commission with India. How are they failing?

A.  The Joint Rivers Commission barely sits in meetings while they are obliged to hold a meeting twice a year. Moreover, these meetings bring no fruitful results anyway due to the lack of proper study and willingness.

The Ganga, the Brahmaputra and the Meghna -- all these rivers flow to the Bay of Bengal. Like the Nile or the Rhine rivers, these rivers must be managed together by all five countries concerned. A modern and new framework is needed now.

Q. How important is it to have a proper management approach for haors?

A. Haors are formed as a result of tectonic depression, so the water flows down from the upstream fast and then finds no way to be carried away down to the Meghna basin.

The problem will never go away until we change our attitude towards haor management. We just consider paddy as the only cash crop, while aquatic resources are not being considered.

As many people's livelihood depends on the development initiatives and many villages developed in the process, an overnight change is not possible.

A combined plan is necessary that will implement changes gradually through proper planning.

Ultimately, we must come out of the commercial approach and adopt a free-flowing ecological approach.

[Interviewed by Dwoha Chowdhury]