Unplanned constructions stifle Chalan Beel to death

Litterateur Promothnath Bishsi (1901–1985) once gave a description of Chalan Beel that as far as the eye can see nowhere does the sight face obstruction till where smoke, fog and clouds together compose the horizon.

That description no longer matches Chalan Beel.

At present, in the country’s largest beel, the sight is blocked by government and private projects, farms, endless ponds, and banana trees on pond embankments. On the other hand, the beel’s water flow is obstructed by silt-filled canals, suddenly sprouted pond banks, and unplanned roads, embankments, and sluice gates.

Chalan Beel is a vast lowland area in northwestern Bangladesh. It spreads over parts of Singra, Gurudaspur, Baraigram, and Lalpur of Natore; Chatmohar, Bhangura, and Faridpur of Pabna; and Raiganj, Tarash, Shahjadpur, and Ullapara of Sirajganj. The waters of the Baral, Barnai, Chhoto Jamuna, Atrai, Nagar, Gur, Banganga, and Nandakuja rivers flow into Chalan Beel. According to CS records, 47 rivers once flowed inside Chalan Beel.

Locals say,  the beel was named Chalan Beel because water always kept flowing through it.

In reality, Chalan Beel is now suffocating. With the flow of river and canal waters obstructed, enough water can no longer enter the beel. A research report by the Water Development Board’s research institution, the Center for Environmental and Geographic Information Services (CEGIS), published last June, states: In March 1975 (dry season), water existed over 800 square kilometers of Chalan Beel. Decreasing year by year, in 2025 the water-covered area has come down to 66 square kilometers.

On 26, 27, and 28 July, this correspondent visited the main parts of Chalan Beel. On 26 July, under the Boalmari Bridge of Chhaikhola Union, Chatmohar upazila, farmers of Ramnagar village were seen immersing jute. Seeing there was still not enough water in the beel, farmer Tajim Uddin, 65, of Ramnagar village, said, “Where will water come from? The sluice gate of Natabaria is closed. Can’t you see the beel is completely dry? There's not even knee-deep water. When they open the gate, then water comes in good amount.”

A little ahead of the bridge, on the opposite side of the road, another group of people were washing jute. Asked about the water condition, a laborer named Shahidul Islam, 40, pointed to a black mark on an electric pole and said, “Chalan Beel’s water used to rise up to there. Why it hasn’t this time, only Allah knows.”

As per Tajim Uddin’s direction, only 2 out of 14 gates were found open at Natabaria sluice gate. There I spoke with Azad Hossain, 52, a fish trader from Natabaria village. He said through the Gumani river, water from all the rivers enters the beel together via Kinu Sarkar’s canal. Now all the sluice gates need to be opened.

“We are in favor of opening them. But we don’t know why they don’t,” said Tajim Uddin.

CEGIS has identified some causes for the current plight of Chalan Beel. It says 15 polders (enclosures) have been constructed in the beel. For these, 1,500 km of embankments and 180 control structures including sluice gates have been built. In addition, 1,188 roads have been constructed. As a result, areas inside the polders have become cut off from the rivers; river flow has been obstructed; the very character of Chalan Beel has been destroyed.

Gumani river flows under Bousha bridge in Chatmohar. Other than Atrai, Jamuna’s water also enters this river.  

The Gumani River flows under the Baosha Bridge in Chatmohar. Besides the Atrai, the water of the Jamuna also enters into this river. All the water together passes through Kinu Sarkar’s jola via the Gumanī River and falls into the Chalan Beel. On that bridge, a conversation took place with farmer Shahjamal, 60, of Korokola village. He said, “Every year by this time, the water rises in the Beel.”

The same condition of water was seen at Tarash in Sirajganj. Soleman Pramanik, 65, a trader at the Tarash West WAPDA embankment, said that after the construction of this embankment during Ershad’s regime, there has been no water on the eastern side of Tarash. During the flood of ’88, when the western side was inundated, people cut the embankment in two places.

Later, sluice gates were installed in those two places. In that same market, a conversation took place with fisherman Amirul Islam. As soon as the topic of fish came up, he said, “If there is no water, where will the fish come from? Now everything has become ponds. Big fish are being cultivated there. You will see rows upon rows of ponds as you go east from Tarash.”

CEGIS research says that before 2014, fish production in Chalan Beel was 26,990 metric tons. Now it has dropped to 11,999 metric tons. In other words, production has decreased by 55 per cent. The number of indigenous fish species was 105; now it has decreased to 60 species.

The rate of decline is 43 per cent. Besides this, due to the excessive use of groundwater for irrigation, the groundwater level in the Chalan Beel area is steadily going down. The amount by which the water level goes down each year is not being recharged.

At the source of the Baral River in Charghat of Rajshahi and at its downstream in Atgharia of Natore, a sluice gate was constructed in 1985. After that, from Atgharia to Bonpara of Baraigram—about 18 kilometers—the Baral has died. Downstream lies Jowari village of Baraigram, where the home of writer Promothonath Bishsi once stood.

Md Rifat Karim, executive engineer of the Natore Water Development Board (WDB), told Prothom Alo that a development project proposal had been submitted to the Planning Commission for the recovery of the occupied parts of the Baral River. That proposal has recently been returned. It will be re-evaluated and sent again.

On 26 July, during a visit to Chatmohar of Pabna, a conversation took place with SM Mizanur Rahman, Member Secretary of the Chalan Beel Protection Movement and Joint Secretary of Bangladesh Environment Movement (BAPA). He said that through at least 100 canals of the Baral, water used to enter five beels of Chatmohar.

Now all the canals have been encroached upon. The beels are dying. Unless the 18-kilometer stretch of the Baral is reclaimed, there is no way for Padma’s water to directly enter Chalan Beel through the Baral. Whatever little water comes through the Nandakuja River, that is all.

To show the state of one canal, Mizanur Rahman took us to the mouth of the Betuyapara canal beside Chatmohar Pilot High School. On top of that canal, Mukul Sarkar has set up a tea stall. Seeing photographs being taken, he rushed over. He asked, “Will this canal be re-excavated again?” Going further along the canal, near Sararar Beel, it was seen that the entire canal had been filled with earth.

Until 1975, the crisis of the 1,000-square-kilometer area of Chalan Beel was not so acute. Up to that point, only the railway line and the Rajshahi–Naogaon and Bogura–Natore roads had been constructed. Even then, in March 1975, there was water over 800 square kilometers of the Chalan Beel area.

CEGIS research says that by 1985, the whole situation changed dramatically. Within that decade, five polders and 91 regulatory structures were built in the Chalan Beel area. As a result, in March 1985, only 280 square kilometers of Chalan Beel was seen with water. This clearly shows that the geomorphology of Chalan Beel was destroyed, and the main culprit behind draining the Beel was the construction of polders and the many regulatory structures associated with them.

By 1995, the number of polders in Chalan Beel had nearly tripled to 14. The number of water-control structures almost doubled to 180. The result was also clear. In March of that year (the dry season), water remained in only 8 square kilometers—0.15 per cent—of Chalan Beel. Thus the Beel was pushed to a near-death state.

By 2015, the number of polders further increased to 15, and water-control structures rose to 215. However, during this period, a significant change occurred in the Chalan Beel area: the expansion of closed-system fish farming. For this, many enclosed ponds were excavated. As a result, by March 2025, the water-bearing area of Chalan Beel decreased to 66 square kilometers.

It is seen that 1,500 kilometers of embankments have been built for creating 12 polders. Also, 1,188 kilometers of roads, 113 bridges, and 855 culverts have been constructed.

Dahiya, Italy, Chougram, and Tajpur unions of Singra upazila are parts of Chalan Beel. While passing through the Chalan Beel gate of Singra, on the right side lay Tajpur union, on the left Chougram. On both sides of the road, rows of ponds inside the Beel were visible during a visit on the afternoon of 28 July. On their banks, banana trees had been planted. In Kabirganj area, a privately developed park was seen, named “Chalan Beel Tourism Park and Recreation Center.”

On the opposite side, at the Chalan Beel point of Koirabari Beel of Tajpur union, stood a floating restaurant. In the rainy season, when the water comes, the restaurant bustles with activity. But now, there is no water. Upon going closer, it was seen that water hyacinths and grass had grown around the restaurant. A little further from there, rows of ponds were visible.

A boat was arranged to go near the ponds. But the boatman said, “There is no water, sir. It will take a long time to drag the boat through the grass.” There, a young man from Biltajpur village, Tajul Islam, said that the biodiversity of Chalan Beel is being destroyed.

From the month of Kartik, local people have taken up collecting snails from the Beel as a profession. They are sold at Tk 20 per kilogram. Truckloads of snails go to Dinajpur every day. He said that once he saw countless birds in the Beel. Now, not even a single egret remains. Fish too are not like before. He believes indiscriminate use of pesticides is responsible.

On the restaurant itself, a conversation took place with its owner, Mohammad Shamim Hossain (45). He said that the water of Chalan Beel is always flowing, which is why the Beel was named Chalan (running). He pointed out that even now, though very light, there is still a current in the water. That means water is moving. Regarding the river water, he said that the water of the Gur River enters the Beel through three canals. Among the three, the mouths of the two main ones—Maheshchandrapur and Baliyabari (Kistapur)—have been blocked by shops, markets, and houses. Only the Fakirpara canal is still open, but that too is much downstream. Locally these canals are called jola.

When we went to Maheshchandrapur village of Kolom union in Singra, we saw the Gur River flowing brimful. But there was no way for that water to enter the Beel through the canal. Three years ago, the Maheshchandrapur Madinatul Ulum Hafizia Madrasa authorities filled the mouth of the canal and built a football field and a market. Nine shops of the market have been rented out. One of the grocery shops is run by Majnu Molla. He said he pays Tk 1,000 as shop rent.

At the mouth of the Gur River and the canal, two houses were seen. One belonged to Amirul Pramanik, the other to his cousin Zakir Pramanik. When photographs were taken, Zakir Pramanik and his family ran after the photographers. Asked why he had built a house on the mouth of the canal, Zakir Pramanik said, “After the madrasa made the football field and market, water would remain here. We filled it up and built a house. This is ancestral property.”

On the other end of the football field, the canal still exists. Later, when contacted over the phone, Madrasa secretary Abu Taleb said, “Local people had dammed the mouth of the jola 10–15 years ago. We spoke with the minister and mayor and filled up the rest of the land. There we built the market.”

When asked, Md Rifat Karim, Executive Engineer of Natore WDB, said he joined in Natore last December. He was not aware of the matter until now. Having learned, he said necessary measures will be taken.

Tanmay Kumar Sanyal, Rajshahi divisional coordinator of the Bangladesh Environmental Lawyers Association (BELA), demanded urgent measures for the protection of Chalan Beel by declaring it an “environmentally critical area.” He told Prothom Alo that a “Chalan Beel Authority” must be formed for the rescue, conservation, and protection of the Beel. Unplanned embankments and sluice gates must be removed, and according to CS records, the boundaries of all rivers, canals, and waterbodies in the Chalan Beel area must be demarcated, freed from encroachment and pollution, and water flow ensured.

Dumping of wastes from various government and non-government factories and institutions into Chalan Beel must be stopped, he added.