Water hyacinths clog river, hamper movement of boats

The high density of large water hyacinths in the Dhonagoda, a tributary of the mighty Meghna, has clogged the riverbed over the past few months.

As a result, hundreds of commuters at Matlab Dakhshin upazila have been badly hassled everyday for the past few months while crossing the river on ferry boats. The same problem is also faced by the traders and businessmen of Matlab Bazar, a bustling commercial hub in Matlab South Upazila Sadar.

Veteran boatman Solaiman Majhi, 65, told The Independent: “In winter, the river flows slowly. As a result, dense water hyacinths remain static, or move very slowly. That’s why the river-beds are clogged with big water hyacinths and we can't move our boats forward smoothly. We have been working hard to move our boats with the passengers aboard. In the past, it would take seven minutes or so to cross the river by boat. During the past few months, however, it has taken at least half-an-hour to cross this thin, low-flowing river with passengers on board.”

“Very often, the male passengers have to row the boat along with the boatmen,” explained a number of male passengers, including some small school and madrasa students.

The boatmen do not start their boats in the absence of the male passengers. This is because the female passengers can't assist the boatmen in running the boats through the dense profusion of large water hyacinths. The boatmen have to wait for male passengers to start their boats. The boat fare was Tk. 2 per head in the past. Now Tk. 5 is charged per head on account of this clogging of the river by water hyacinths.”

School-teachers Dulal Mia Prodhan, Farzana Begum and Beauty Das complained to The Independent that they have faced this problem for the past three months. Students Nasrin and Sharmin, too, complained that the boat fare was now Tk. 5, a figure that was Tk. 2 per head before the problem began.

Two prominent businessmen of Matlab Bazar—commodities dealer Jahir Sarker and rods and cement dealer Chandan Saha—had similar complaints. They complained that their merchandise boats cannot move forward and they have to wait for hours on end for their merchandise boats to arrive at the riverbank and ghat. Then they have to shell out extra for hiring extra labourers on the goods-laden merchandise boats.

As a result, the boatmen cannot reach the trading shops in time and the traders cannot send the rods and cements in time to rural customers from their business centres by river. The boatmen, too, charge extra on the plea of the clogging of the Dhonagoda by water hyacinths.

The Dhonagoda flows sluggishly between Matlab South and Matlab North upazilas. The river adds to the scenic beauty of Matlab south municipal town, apart from helping trade and commerce flourish. But because of the hyacinth jam in the riverbed, everyone faces problems.

The newly-built Matlab Bridge is 1 km east and away from the Matlab Ferry Ghat. People are reluctant to use that bridge as it is a detour for them. They prefer to use this ferry ghat to cross the low-flowing Dhonagoda.

 

Water hyacinths clog river, hamper movement of boats

The high density of large water hyacinths in the Dhonagoda, a tributary of the mighty Meghna, has clogged the riverbed over the past few months. As a result, hundreds of commuters at Matlab Dakhshin upazila have been badly hassled everyday for the past few months while crossing the river on ferry boats. The same problem is also faced by the traders and businessmen of Matlab Bazar, a bustling commercial hub in Matlab South Upazila Sadar. Veteran boatman Solaiman Majhi, 65, told The Independent: In winter, the river flows slowly. As a result, dense water hyacinths remain static, or move very slowly. Thats why the river-beds are clogged with big water hyacinths and we cant move our boats forward smoothly. We have been working hard to move our boats with the passengers aboard. In the past, it would take seven minutes or so to cross the river by boat. During the past few months, however, it has taken at least half-an-hour to cross this thin, low-flowing river with passengers on board. Very often, the male passengers have to row the boat along with the boatmen, explained a number of male passengers, including some small school and madrasa students. The boatmen do not start their boats in the absence of the male passengers. This is because the female passengers cant assist the boatmen in running the boats through the dense profusion of large water hyacinths. The boatmen have to wait for male passengers to start their boats. The boat fare was Tk. 2 per head in the past. Now Tk. 5 is charged per head on account of this clogging of the river by water hyacinths. School-teachers Dulal Mia Prodhan, Farzana Begum and Beauty Das complained to The Independent that they have faced this problem for the past three months. Students Nasrin and Sharmin, too, complained that the boat fare was now Tk. 5, a figure that was Tk. 2 per head before the problem began. Two prominent businessmen of Matlab Bazarcommodities dealer Jahir Sarker and rods and cement dealer Chandan Sahahad similar complaints. They complained that their merchandise boats cannot move forward and they have to wait for hours on end for their merchandise boats to arrive at the riverbank and ghat. Then they have to shell out extra for hiring extra labourers on the goods-laden merchandise boats. As a result, the boatmen cannot reach the trading shops in time and the traders cannot send the rods and cements in time to rural customers from their business centres by river. The boatmen, too, charge extra on the plea of the clogging of the Dhonagoda by water hyacinths. The Dhonagoda flows sluggishly between Matlab South and Matlab North upazilas. The river adds to the scenic beauty of Matlab south municipal town, apart from helping trade and commerce flourish. But because of the hyacinth jam in the riverbed, everyone faces problems. The newly-built Matlab Bridge is 1 km east and away from the Matlab Ferry Ghat. People are reluctant to use that bridge as it is a detour for them. They prefer to use this ferry ghat to cross the low-flowing Dhonagoda.