Desk Report,
Shubhadhya Canal is now a ‘plastic dump’
The Shubhadhya Canal, which flows through South Keraniganj next to Dhaka, was once a lively waterway. Known as the junction of Buriganga and Dhaleshwari, the canal is losing its existence due to encroachment and pollution. Although several attempts have been made to rescue and renovate the canal, it has not been sustainable. This time, the government has taken up a new project worth Tk 317 crore under the supervision of the army.
Shubhadhya Canal is now a ‘plastic dump’
Local residents said that once boats could ply in the canal, fish could be caught, and the canal’s water was used in the surrounding agricultural land. Now, almost the entire canal is encroached upon, filled with waste and polythene. In some places, the canal has been filled to the point that it can be crossed on foot.
The length of the Shubhadhya Canal is seven kilometers. The canal starts from Char Kaliganj in South Keraniganj, Dhaka and ends in the Rajendrapur Bazar area. The canal is already on the verge of disappearing due to encroachment by land grabbers and garbage thrown by local people.
On Tuesday, these two reporters from Prothom Alo visited Char Kaliganj, Kaliganj Bazar, Jora Bridge, Khalpar, Naya Shubhadhya, Kadamtali, Charkutub, Jhaubari, Begunbari, Golambazar, Rajendrapur and several other areas of the canal. The three-kilometer area from Char Kaliganj to Golambazar has been filled with plastic and barwari waste. At a glance, it would seem that this is a canal for dumping plastic waste.
This part of the canal from Char Kaliganj to Golambazar has several hundred factories and shops. It has been filled with all the waste from factories and shops. There is no water in this part. People can move from one side to the other without a bridge. And from Uttar Shubhadhya to Chitakhola, the canal has been filled with silt and has become full. Grass has grown there. The next part, from Chitakhola to Rajendrapur, the canal has been dug up and soil has been left on both sides. Of course, there is water there; But there is no way for that water to flow.
Local residents say that due to the lack of proper waste management, people are throwing waste into the canals, feeling helpless. Although waste is collected from these areas once a day under the supervision of the Union Parishad, traders and shopkeepers claim that this is not enough. They say that there is no specific place to store the waste. If there is a lot of waste, they throw it into the canals.
Tofail Ahmed, a resident of the Khalpar area, told Prothom Alo that considering the amount of waste that accumulates every day, if there was an opportunity to collect waste three to four times a day, the tendency to throw garbage into the canals might have decreased a bit.
