The water hyacinth of Ichamati river in Santhia of Pabna has caused extreme misery in human life. Even though the suffering of the people is extreme, there is no one to watch. The Ichamati River, the main irrigation canal in Paubo, which flows through the middle of Santhia, is almost identical to Chennai.
This river, which is full of water hyacinth, seems to have lost its heritage and has now become a tributary. At the same time, due to water hyacinth, the people of Elka have become unsuitable for using the foul smelling water of the river. As a result, people in the area are being infected with various water borne diseases.
It is learned that in 1990, 42 km section of Paubo Ichamati river was converted into main irrigation canal under Pabna Irrigation and Rural Development Project. Even after it was turned into an irrigation canal, countless people on both its banks used its water for irrigation and household purposes.
But the water is no longer used for domestic purposes due to the growth of water hyacinth in the river. Apart from this, navigation has also been hampered. Due to non-cleaning of water hyacinths, they have become a cause of rotting environmental pollution in many areas.
About 42 km from Madhpur to Bera pump station of the upazila. Since it has not been removed for a long time, various species of plants including many herbs have spread over it in the whole river. It looks like a sack that encloses with a drawstring. This river named Ichamati cannot be reached in Chennai. The water of Ichamati river has become very foul smelling. The water of this river is now unsuitable for household work starting from bathing. Rivers have been observed on the ground, water has turned black due to rotting of water hyacinth in some areas and foul smell is coming out from there. Mosquito infestation has increased so much that it is impossible to stay away from the river. Mosquitoes come and spread all over the body.
However, even in such a situation, the people of the area are doing other household chores including bathing in the same water. Many tenderhearted children are suffering from various diseases including diarrhea and skin.
Dr Abdullah Al Mamun, a resident doctor of Santhia Hospital, said that if the water of the river was foul smelling due to this water hyacinth, it could cause diarrhea and skin diseases and various water borne infectious diseases in the body.
“The flow of water is being obstructed. Water is being polluted. It is important to remove it. I will talk to the Water Development Board about this. Sudhansh Kumar Sarkar, Executive Engineer, Bera Paubo, said, We will take measures to remove it when it is allocated,” he said.
