Once upon a time, the Turag River that flows along the periphery of Bangladesh’s capital Dhaka city was filled with fish. However, the picture has changed over the time. Now fishes are not easily found in the river anymore.
The fishermen along the Turag River are heavily affected by this change. Members of the fishermen community in Savar, on the outskirts of the capital, are witnessing a steep decline in sales due to the depletion of fishes in Turag River following encroachment and pollution of the river. As a result, hundreds of fishermen living along the Turag are forced to change their profession. They are leaving their profession and opting for alternative means for survival.
Many of the members of the fishermen community in Savar have to live unemployed lives. During the unemployment period, the families of the fishermen have to live with high interest loans. Especially from June to September, these four months of the year the fishermen earn their livelihood by catching fish in the Turag river, but the remaining eight months the fishermen have to be compulsorily unemployed due to the pollution of the Turag water.
Many of the fishermen live in Bagicharteck village on the banks of Turag river under Kaundia union in Savar upazila of Dhaka district. At least 50 families of the fishermen community live in the village.
Due to the pollution and encroachment of the river, the fisherman families of this village are living a miserable life as they are deprived of various facilities, including education and health service.
Against this backdrop, the River and Delta Research Centre-RDRC, a leading research organisation on water resources and sustainable development, came forward to provide support to the fishermen of Bagicharteck village.
The RDRC has provided pump assistance for safe drinking water in the fishing village along the Turag River.
On the occasion, a discussion on river pollution and impact on fishermen’s livelihood was arranged at Bagicharteck village in Savar on Saturday (August 12, 2023). The water pump was inaugurated formally during the event.
Mohammad Azaz, Chairman at River and Delta Research Centre; presided over the discussion, while Amin Al Rashid of Nexus TV; Monir Hossain Chowdhury, former climate expert of National River Conservation Commission; Suman Shams, chairman of Nongar Trust; Shamsher Ali, member secretary of Nodi Odhikar Mancha; Aminur Rasul, a researcher on environment; Md Muzaffar Faisal, project officer (river affairs) of Bangladesh Environmental Lawyers Association (BELA); and Md Saiful Islam of Echo Dhaka; among others, took part in the discussion.
Mohammad Azaz said that river encroachment and pollution and declining fish catches are affecting the daily lives of fishing communities across the country.
He also said that the pollution of Turag water is affecting livelihood of those long dependent on the river and also forcing the fishermen of Savar to look for alternative means of income.
He added that the fishermen are not included in the development plan of the government. “We are working so that the fishermen of the area are included in the government data,” he said.
Meanwhile, local fishermen talked about how pollution in the Turag River is affecting their lives and livelihood.