The 12-kilometre-long Bhola Canal is now on the verge of collapse due to years of encroachment and pollution.
The canal flows through the heart of Bhola district town and serves as the only connecting waterway between Tetulia and Meghna rivers.
In the past, passenger launches travelled between Dhaka, Bhola and Barishal through this canal, allowing residents easy access to river routes across the country.
Farmers from remote parts of the district brought their produce by trawlers and boats to the Bhola markets through this waterway.
Traders from Dhaka, Narayanganj and Barishal also transported goods to local warehouses via the same canal.
However, the canal has gradually lost its navigability. Encroachment, illegal construction and indiscriminate dumping of waste have left the water contaminated, with tidal flow nearly disappearing.
Locals fear that in the event of a fire or similar emergency, it would now be almost impossible to control flames due to the lack of accessible water.
Long-time boatman Joydev Majhi of Shibpur union said, “I have carried goods to the Bhola municipal market on this canal my entire life.”
Fisherman Shree Anil of Majher Char shared a similar account, saying, “I used to catch fish in the Meghna and carry them to Bhola town by boat, but now I cannot because the canal no longer holds enough water.”
Fish trader Sheikhabur Rahman from Bhola municipal market said the canal was once an essential part of daily life.
“After selling fish all day, we used to bathe in the canal before returning home. But for nearly a decade, the water has become so polluted that we cannot even step into it,” he said.
Illegal shops and buildings have occupied large parts of the canal for years. What little remains is heavily polluted as households and businesses discharge waste and sewage directly into the water.
At the Bhola Sadar Hospital point, a local NGO named Grameen Jan Unnayan Sangstha has set up a floating restaurant, further blocking the canal’s mouth and restricting the already minimal water flow. Despite protests from several organisations, the municipality has yet to take effective action to remove the establishment.
Bhola municipality administrator and local government deputy director Md Mizanur Rahman admitted the floating restaurant is illegal. He said all unauthorised structures along the canal will be evicted soon.
