Benapole
Kobadak left to the mercy of encroachers
Land grabbers place logs in the middle of the river to facilitate fishing by obstructing its water flow
UNB
The Kobadak River in Chougaccha upazila of Jessore district is in a sorry state due to widespread encroachment by land grabbers, reports UNB. During a recent visit to the upazila, the UNB correspondent found out that land grabbers have placed logs in the middle of the river to facilitate fishing by obstructing its water flow. Besides, they have encroached a major portion of the riverbed by depositing sands and created several houses and enclosures in the area. Locals demanded immediate steps to free the river from illegal encroachments. Originated from the Mathabhanga in Chuadanga district, the 65-mile long Kobadak runs though Chougachha upazila of Jessore before marauding into the Bay of Bengal. During the British rule, many ships used to ply the marauding river, and the merchants of indigo, sugar and molasses used to anchor their ships at Khalashi Bazar in the upazila. The mighty river had also been an abode of various species of fish and several fishing communities live by the river banks. But in the course time, the river has turned into a dead cannel, forcing the fishing folks to change the profession. Now, the Kobadak River gets back to its life in the rainy season but turns bone dry in the winter when people use the riverbed for cattle grazing. Locals alleged that most of the riverbed area has been grabbed by a section of land grabbers. Contacted, Marufur Rahman, officer-in-charge (investigation) of Chougaccha Police Station, said Weve got the information and steps will be taken to evict those illegal establishments soon.
