The Jatrapur-Alaipur canal is in a sordid condition. Much of the canal has been grabbed by local influential people and filled up as it has not been dredged for a very long time.
The then East Pakistan Water and Power Development Authority had excavated the canal in the 1950s to boost mercantile trade inside the country through the waterway.
It is necessary to immediately restore the flow of this canal, which is over half a century old, given the ecological importance of the area, said sources.
Besides, it would help recharge ground water and people could then use the canal’s water for irrigation for the harvesting of various agricultural products.
The 18-km-long canal, of a width of 200 to 500 feet, stretches from Jatrapur under Sadar upazila in Bagerhat to Alaipur under Rupsha upazila in Khulna district.
The then East Pakistan government had acquired 357 acres for the canal in order to manage earth spoil, but most of these lands have been grabbed by influential locals, sources said.
The canal was handed over to the Inland Water Transport (IWT) on July 1, 1963. Since the creation of the canal in the 1950s, no dredging work has been done in the canal, according to sources in the Bangladesh Inland Water Transport Authority (BIWTA).
Once, big goods-laden ships and vessels of different sizes, including local boats, plied on the canal. “Various big boats plied between Bagerhat and Rupsha via this canal. But now, it has dried up. If the canal is dredged, vessels could again ply through this canal,” Mohsin Ali, a resident of Bagerhat Sadar upazila, told this correspondent.
The canal was created primarily to reduce the distance between Bagerhat, Khulna and other areas of the region to ensure smooth transportation of goods.
Plans were chalked out to connect a link between Atharo Beki in Bagerhat and the Bhairab in Khulna region with the Jatrapur and Alaipur canal.  “Local people have
demanded resumption of the canal through dredging. The people could use the water of the canal for irrigation purposes,” Qaiser Ahmed, port officer of Khulna, told The Independent. He also claimed that most of the acquired lands of the canal was under their control, which people are using through lease from the BIWTA.
“After the revival of the canal, vessels of eight-feet draught are now plying through the Pashur river via the Mongla-Ghashiakhali channel to Khulna. The small canals will get water after the Jatrapur-Alaipur canal is dredged,” Saidur Rahman, BIWTA superintendent engineer, told this correspondent.  At least Tk. 20 crore would be required to restore the canal to its former glory, he said in reply to a query.