A tributary of Rabanabad river merges with the Andharmanik river to form an estuary in Kalapara upazila of Patuakhali before the rivers descend to the Bay of Bengal. On the northern corner of this estuary lies the Payra Thermal Power Plant, while the Payra Sea Port lies on the southern corner.
The 1,320 MW coal-fired power plant was commissioned in 2020. The Payra Sea Port was inaugurated in 2016-17 fiscal year. Before the port and the power plant came into the picture, the estuary used to be a rich and abundant fish reserve, especially of hilsa.
Andharmanik river was also declared a hilsa sanctuary. Thousands of fishermen in Patuakhali and neighbouring districts used to catch hilsa and other fish in the two rivers and the estuary. However, over the past few years since the port and the power plant became fully operational, the scenario changed significantly, much to the woes of the local fishermen.
CHAOS ON THE SURFACE
Around 3:00pm on November 10, this correspondent witnessed a chaotic scene while sitting on the bank of Rabanabad river adjacent to the Payra power plant.
Some fishermen were waiting in their fishing boats and trawlers after throwing their large nets in the water to catch hilsa.
Right then, a lighter ship was seen coming from the Bay. Visibly upset, the fishermen began waving a red towel, signalling the ship to change its course.
The ship, however, paid no heed to the signal and ran straight through the nets, tearing those apart, while the waves caused by its propellers swelled the river’s water and pulled the nets to the surface, and the cries of the fishermen were lost amid the ship’s loud noise.
“This has become a daily occurrence since the port and power plant opened up here,” alleged Alauddin, another fisherman who was standing by this correspondent.
“Ships come and go like this day and night, leaving the nets of fishermen torn on their way. Each of these hilsa nets costs between Tk 3-5 lakh. Who knows how many such nets got destroyed over the years, and how many fishermen had to suffer for this!” he added.
LESS FISH, LOST LIVELIHOOD
Over the past few years, fish populations in the estuary, which used to be an abundant reserve of hilsa and other fish, have depleted alarmingly, making fishing no longer profitable for the local fishermen.
Lamenting about it, Alauddin said, “If so many ships ply every day, how will fish come to the river?”
Fishermen Hossain Sharif, 48, and Harun, 35, of Pashurbunia village under Kalapara upazila, have been engaged in catching hilsa in the Andharmanik and Rabanabad rivers for their livelihood for years.
“Even around seven years back, I owned two trawlers and would catch hilsa worth Tk 15,000-20,000 in a single trip on a trawler. Now, I can catch hilsa worth hardly around Tk 3,000-4,000 a day, while each trip on the trawler costs Tk 5,000. Burdened by debt, I had to sell off one trawler, and some of my land. I can barely make ends meet now,” said Sharif.
Echoing him, Harun said the movement of fish in the rivers reduced considerably since the thermal power plant became operational and ships began plying the rivers in large numbers.
Due to this crisis of fish, many fishermen were compelled to change their profession.
Once a fisherman, Habibul Bashar of Panjupara village now provides ride-hailing service with his motorbike for a living.
Bashir Uddin Howladar, 48, who used to sell fish in Banati Bajar, has given up his business due to a crisis of fish.
Fisherman Ashraf Ali Pada, who caught hilsa in Andharmanik river for 15 years, said he now hunts crabs and sells those for Tk 500-700 a day.
Many other fishermen are now working as day labourers, masons or rickshaw pullers.
TROUBLED WATERS
According to Payra sea port authorities, about 4,000 domestic and foreign ships pass through the port every year, alongside numerous lighter ships.
If the port becomes connected to the rest of the country through a road network, transporting goods from the port will become a lot easier and hence the number of ships to the port will increase further, they opined.
This, in turn, will only reduce the fish resources of the rivers and add to the woes of the local fishermen.
Another troubling fact that came to light is the discharge of hot water into the river from the power plant.
The power plant has two pipes connected to Andharmanik river on its south side and two more pipes to Rabanabad river on the east side.
When one unit of the plant is operational, water is discharged from one pipe on each side, while both units being operational means water will get discharged through all four pipes.
On September 21 at around 9:00am, and again on November 10 at around 4:00pm, this correspondent observed that the water discharged through the pipes connected to Rabanabad river was of much higher temperature than normal.
Hashem Pahlowan, 65, a resident of Char Nishanbaria area along the east side of the power plant, also said the pipes discharge hot water into the rivers, which may have reduced the rivers’ fish population.
Dulal Majhi, 70, another resident of the area, echoed him.
AUTHORITIES SAY OTHERWISE
However, Payra power plant authorities disagreed with what the fishers claimed.
Contacted, Azimur Rahman, deputy manager of the plant, said although hot water from the boiler is pumped and released into the river through pipes, this water has no negative impact on the river.
He said the plying of ships in the river led to the decline in the rivers’ fish reserve.
Asked the same question, Engineer Shah Abdul Mawla, plant manager of the power plant, said water is brought from the Andharmanik river through pipes and heated to boiling point in the plant.
“As such, the water is purified before it is released into the river. The biodiversity of the river is not supposed to be lost in that bit of hot water,” he claimed.
SURVEY FINDINGS, EXPERT OPINIONS
A study conducted by Bangladesh Poribesh Andolon has suggested that the activities of the port and the power plant are responsible for the decline in hilsa and other fish in Rabnabad and Andharmanik rivers.
As part of the study, local fishermen were surveyed. Of them, 87.62 percent opined that the crisis of fish in the two rivers is a direct result of operating the port and the power plant in the vicinity of the rivers, while 12.38 percent attributed the decline to climate change impacts.
Also, 76.22 percent of the fishermen said the temperature of the water increases due to the release of hot water from the power plant into the river; 72.38 percent said coal and dust pollution from the plant reduces water quality; 72.38 percent said movement of large number of vessels in the rivers is causing the decline of hilsa population; 89.22 percent opined the size of hilsa is getting smaller than before; and 70.78 percent claimed that the taste and smell of hilsa from the rivers has also deteriorated.
Contacted, BAPA General Secretary Sharif Jamil said the development and infrastructure of Payra port and thermal power plant have degraded the ecosystem of the estuary and adjoining areas.
Hilsa is a deep-sea fish that comes to the river to release eggs. If the water of a river is polluted, the movement of hilsa decreases in that river. Also, if hilsa eggs are released in polluted water, all the eggs don’t hatch, reducing the fish population.
— Md Lokman Ali Dean of Fisheries, PSTU
Construction and dredging activities for the port are causing siltation and change to the river bed, reducing the level of oxygen and light in the water, and thereby hindering the movement and breeding of hilsa in the rivers, he added.
“Hilsa is a deep-sea fish that comes to the river to release eggs. If the water of a river is polluted, the movement of hilsa decreases in that river. Also, if hilsa eggs are released in polluted water, all the eggs don’t hatch, thereby reducing the fish population. The pollution also negatively affects the size of fish,” said Md Lokman Ali, dean of Faculty of Fisheries at Patuakhali Science and Technology University.
“The operation of the power plant and high traffic of vessels, in turn, increased the extent of pollution in the two rivers due to the discharge of different wastes into the water. As a result, the rivers’ fish resources are depleting,” he added.