Rotting of jute plants in the rivers, ponds and haors is polluting surface water and endangering aquatic life in Jhenidah. Fisheries department sources said water bodies, including 13 rivers, haors, baors, canals, ponds and ditches of Jhenidah, are being polluted due to traditional system of jute retting. District fisheries officer Shankar Chandra Haldar said jotting of jute plants in the water bodies is seriously hampering fish breeding and their movement. The government needs to take steps to stop jute retting everywhere during this season. Halder said now this is breeding time for fishes. “We always fail to achieve the target of fish production every year despite having all types of water bodies and technologies,” he added.
Farmers are seen rotting their jute plants in rivers and other water bodies in the district as ribbon retting method, a device for rotting the plants with much less water and deriving quality fibre, is yet to gain popularity. Islam Uddin, a farmer of Nimtola village in Kaliganj upazila, said: "We are not familiar with the system. A few farmers have been informed about the new system, but they are not seen interested.” “Ribbon retting method is very easy. But we have taken training on it only for a day, which is not sufficient”, said Ali Monsur, a farmer from Kapashatia village in Harinakundo upazila.
It is found that water of some rivers and most canals, baor, haor, ponds and other water bodies has turned black and stinky. Hundreds of people are catching fish, many of them are already dead or are dying, in the polluted water bodies. Many people living beside rivers said they are suffering from various skin and abdomen diseases.
Sources at the Department of Agricultural Extension (DAE) in Jhenidah said this season few farmers were trained in each upazila. It may take time to adopt the system by each and every farmer. They said the ribbon retting system has to be re-introduced, which will good for farmers as well as the echo-system.
They said traditionally, the farmers remove fibre after rotting jute plants in water for two to three weeks, but ribbon retting system requires extracting the fibre first and then keeping it in water pots for rotting. It requires much less water.
Ribbon retting needs polythene and a big hole in the soil. After separating raw fibre from the jute stalk it is kept in the water hole.
Deputy director of DAE in Jhenidah Shah Mohammad Akramul Haque said there has been adequate rainfall in the district. This year, there is water everywhere, he said adding farmers are very happy as they can rot jute without any problem. Usually, around 450 millimeters (MM) of rainfall is required between June and August for rotting of jute, but this year the district has already seen over one thousand millimeters of rainfall, he said.