A human chain was formed in the Barisal city on Saturday in protest at construction of culvert filling the major canal in the city and demolishing bridge over it.
They also called for preservation of rapidly disappearing ponds, canals, river, water bodies in the city and surrounding areas and demanded steps against construction of culvert on Jail Khal.
Nadi Khal Bachao Andolon, Barisal organised the programme in the morning in protest at the under-construction culvert over the historic Jail Khal at Kawnia of the city.
Among others, Akkas Hossain, president, Enyaet Hossain Shiplu, secretary of the Andolan, Mizanur Rahman, member-secretary Barisal Nagarik Samaj, Shamsul Alam, Mukul Das and Biswanath Das Munshi addressed the programme.
The speakers at the programme said not only government agencies were reluctant to take action against those responsible for quick disappearance of canals, ponds and filling of rivers and the water bodies in and around the city, but local government agencies like Barisal City Corporation was filling the canals instead of re-excavating or preserving the existing ones.
BCC instead of re-excavating Battala Khal, another wide and major canal of the city, filled it and construct market on it, the protestors said.
According to a survey, there were nearly 600 ponds, canals and water bodies in and around the city 50 years ago.
But rampant filling of water bodies has reduced the figure to only one Jail Khal canal, nine water tanks, 101 ponds and 20 other water bodies.
Source : New Age
