How a ‘century-old’ canal between beels stirred village conflicts
Villagers in Rajbari’s Kalukhali upazila forcibly re-excavated a canal to restore drainage for surrounding beels, but in doing so, demolished parts of homes in Patbaria village, leaving several families displaced
Beauty Begum was busy with household chores at her home, or rather, what was left of it after villagers from Bhandarkhola, Banglat, Aamdanga, and Kalinagar jointly demolished parts of it while re-excavating a canal.
"We only had this small piece of land and built our house on it," Beauty said, standing at the edge of the canal. "They demolished our home, leaving half our family homeless and cutting off access to the street. The men in our family are van drivers, and they cannot bring their vans home."
Beauty Begum is one of several families in Patbaria village affected by a recent canal 'rescue' drive carried out by residents of several villages in Kalukhali upazila of Rajbari district.
According to locals, the canal had flowed for more than a hundred years between the Bhandarkhola and Gojaria beels, connecting several other beels in neighbouring villages and serving as a natural drainage channel.
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"The canal is older than us," an elderly villager said. "It's been there since the time of our forefathers."
The village elders, however, do not have a documented history of how or why the canal was originally dug. The local water development and agriculture division officials also could not provide any details of the canal's history.
The disputed stretch of the canal where the excavation took place is roughly one kilometre long, but it is crucial because it carries water from several beels down to Gojaria, before flowing further into other connected canals.
This crucial part of the canal, in recent years, had gradually been encroached upon by some residents of Patbaria village.
"One man dug a pond and first restricted the canal's natural flow, and then began building houses by filling in parts of the canal," said Lokman Hossain, a villager and secretary of the Patbaria Society Club, a local social organisation.
"We suffered because of this. Our cultivable land remained submerged, as this canal is the only way for water to drain out, and they blocked it."
Around two weeks ago, villagers took matters into their own hands. They formed a human chain in front of Patbaria High School and then, in their hundreds, moved in to demolish houses and makeshift bridges which obstructed the water flow, 'rescuing' the canal in the process.
"We had no options but to drain our water out to cultivate our lands in the Bhadarkhola, Ambaria and other beels," said Lokman.
Debbroto Sarkar, assistant police superintendent in Pangsha upazila, was present with his force as villagers excavated the canals, which led to damaging the properties of Patbaria residents who had encroached on the waterway.
"I appealed to them not to take matters into their own hands," Debbroto said. "But they were determined and went ahead anyway."
As the situation remains tense and on the verge of serious village conflict, village elders said a sustainable solution is needed to prevent further unrest and preserve what they described as the "peaceful" existence of generations.
The public excavation took place in the presence of government officials and military personnel. The Upazila Nirbahi Officer at the time was also on site. However, officials said there were too many people for them to intervene effectively.
"We did not cause gross damage to the Patbaria villagers," Lokman said. "We only did what was absolutely necessary to rescue the canals."
Bhandarkhola beel is dotted with numerous ponds, and many farmers have shifted from crop cultivation to fisheries. Biplob was one of them; he joined the protests and helped excavate the canal. He, however, died while guarding the pond at night.
"He had heart complications which might have been the reason," Lokman said. However, the exact cause of his death remains unclear although no cases were filed by the family.
Hundreds of herons, egrets and mynas circled overhead as nearby waters receded, revealing food sources for the birds. The beels are as green and serene as a typical Bangladeshi village can be — yet beneath this tranquil veneer, a deep tension is brewing.
"If you look beyond this pond, there's another way for the waters of these beels to be drained," Kamrul of Patbaria told us. "But they forced the water through the canals in our village, damaging our homes because we are poor."
"They channelled all their water into our Gojaria beels," said Kamrul Islam, a Patbaria villager who owns land in the Gojaria beels. "Our land is now under water, and this is the cultivation season."
Lokman, however, insisted that the Patbaria canal remains the only feasible and functional channel to drain the water. "They are all lying," he said.
Bipul Mia, another villager whose house was damaged, said his family had inserted tubes beneath their home to channel out the water.
"But they still damaged my house. The canal area is my own property, and I can do whatever I want with it," he said.
The protesting villagers, however, insisted that the land does not belong to the residents but is part of government halat.
When The Business Standard visited the village last week, many were seen refilling the canal sections in front of their houses.
"They threatened us after we started refilling, but we cannot access our homes, and our vans are at risk of theft," one van driver told us. "They could have provided a culvert if they truly cared about the pond, but instead they've made our lives difficult."
As the situation remains tense and on the verge of serious village conflict, village elders said a sustainable solution is needed to prevent further unrest and preserve what they described as the "peaceful" existence of generations.
The Business Standard contacted the current Upazila Nirbahi Officer, Mesbahul Islam, who assumed the post just a week ago. He said he was not yet fully aware of the issue.
"Our environment adviser is very focused on retrieving the canal, so it is an important issue that I intend to resolve," he told The Business Standard. "But for now, our attention is on the national elections. We can address this properly once the elections are over."
Beauty Begum said the family waits for the authorities not to leave them stranded. "We need a way to connect our home to the road and assistance to rebuild our house," she said.
