Waterlogging threatens livelihood in Kobadak basin: 35,000 marooned in Satkhira for a month

The Daily Star, August 5, 2008.

Over 35 thousand people living in the Kabodak basin in Tala and Kalaroa upazilas under the district have been passing miserable days for around three weeks as waterlogging continues to worsen with overflowing of riverbanks. 

The most affected areas are Sarulia, Dhandia, Kumira, Magura, Jalalpur and Nagarghata in Tala upazila and Deara, Jugikhali, Joynagar and Jalalabad unions in Kalaroa upazila.

Amid severe crisis of food and drinking water, the villagers are leading miserable life as most of the areas are under two to three feet water.

Over 200 homeless families have taken shelter on high lands.

Tube-wells in many villages in the Kabodak basin have been submerged. 

Farm labourers are suffering much as most of them have become jobless with inundation of large areas of croplands that hampered Aman cultivation in the area. 

Massive siltation and consequent loss of depth in Kabodak River results in serious flooding and waterlogging in the villages on its banks during the rainy season, said Sarulia union parishad Chairman Matiar Rahman. 

Stagnant water on a vast swath of land and homesteads poses a serious threat to livelihood and environment and many of the vegetations and wildlife have become extinct in the areas as water-logging has been a problem since early 80s, he said.

“I have taken shelter on a high land as my house is now under three feet water,” Abu Bakkar Siddique, an elderly person of village Sharsha in Tala upazila, told this correspondent. 

“Apathy of the Water Development Board and the local administration to take measures for clearing the water has contributed to water-logging,” said Biswas Santosh Kumar, a former chairman of Dhandia union parishad.

During this correspondent’s recent visit to the area, several local people said they could not cultivate Aman crop in this season and it will not be possible to grow winter vegetables if water remains stagnant for another couple of months. 

No one has come to help the affected people in the area, said Asadul Moral, Eman Ali and Apu Member. 

They urged the authorities to help the affected people immediately.

Increased salinity changes vegetation pattern

Pinaki Roy, back from Dakop, Khulna, The Daily Star, July 14, 2008

Geowa plants are abundant on the banks of Khalsi canal. Most of these species are less than a decade old; many others are growing for only couple of years. Not only geowa, some golpata (nypah) and other saline-tolerant plants are visible here and there along the canal.

The canal is named after Khalsi village in Dakop upazila in Khulna where the residents are mostly Hindus.

During a stroll around the village it was seen geowa is the main tree there. Locals say vegetation pattern of Khalsi has entirely changed in just 20 years. Just two decades ago, like other typical Hindu majority villages, Khalsi was full of Tulsi, joba, sheuli and coconut, banana, mango, wood apple and other fruit trees essential for worshipping the Hindu gods and goddesses.

But now concentration of salt has become so high in the land that only saline tolerant plants can survive it.

“We had 45 coconut trees. But those started dying slowly since saline water entered the village. Now we have some other fruit trees with no produce,” said housewife Mira Ray.

During the 80s when shrimp farming was becoming popular, influential people forced small farmers to lease out their land for the venture. A number of the farmers started shrimp farming at will, but many others were forced into the business flooding their cropland with saline water.

Initially, shrimp farming yielded a good profit. But soon it became a losing concern due to virus infection and the farmers realised that producing crops was a better option.

“I remember just immediate before first shrimp farming we got 1,000 mounds of rice from 60 bighas of land. Now our land has increased to 94 bighas and produce comes down to only 100 mounds,” said Dr Achintya Bhowmik, principal of a local graduation college.

Krishna Pada Mandal echoed the same. He cultivated rice in 10 bighas and harvested only 11 mounds rice whereas a farmer from saline-free land got over 100 mounds from the same quantity of land.

Now villagers want to get rid of saline water and saline water-based shrimp farming like those of Bazua who have successfully rid their cropland of saline water and are making huge money cultivating rice, watermelon and pumpkin.

But influential shrimp farmers want to continue the business anyhow. The villagers allege an influential businessman from Dhaka is producing shrimp taking lease of their land at Tk 1,000 yearly for per bigha.

The villagers say the businessman cultivates shrimp on only 40 acres of land through irrigating saline water from the Kazibachha river. But about 700 acres of land around is getting increased amount of salinity.

The villagers say local civil and police administration is working for the influential shrimp cultivators, who are also leaders of major political parties. These leaders are filing cases against marginal farmers and police are taking bribe from them, they claim.

A farmer who is protesting against the salinity aggression said if someone wants to cultivate rice in an acre of land, they have to spend Tk 21,000 for power-tiller, Tk 2,400 for seeds, Tk 3,000 for labours and Tk 1,000 for irrigation. 

In the end, they will possibly get around 45 mounds of rice from single-crop land which is worth no less than Tk 40,000 at current market price. And in this area farmers can grow three crops annually. 

But now farmers who have one acre of land are hardly getting only Tk 5,000-6,000 a year.

SUCCESS OF BAZUA VILLAGE 
Locals of Bazua union, just three kilometres down from Khalsi have successfully got rid of saline water and are cultivating crops there. Vegetation pattern is different there as geowa and other saline water varieties are hardly visible. 

The farmers in Bazua said they get around Tk 75,000 by selling watermelons in one acre of land in addition to Tk 25,000 from over 30 mounds of rice.

Parimal Mandal from Bazua said they are doing fine cultivating sweet water varieties. 

Gouranga Prasad Roy, convener of salt-water prevention committee in Bazua, said the small and landless farmers protested against the shrimp farming.

“Commoners and landless people don’t want shrimp farming as it only makes the rich people richer. But by cultivating watermelon and rice the marginal farmers are making some money themselves.”