Burai Beel, a natural wetland adjacent to Tangail district town, is swiftly diminishing owing to persistent pollution and development.
Situated in the eastern section of the town, Burai Beel was historically utilized by residents for transit from adjacent regions to the district center. It functioned as a natural reservoir for local fish species, providing a livelihood for fishermen.
For years, the Tangail municipality has discharged water and waste from the eastern and central regions of the town into Burai Beel via many drains. Consequently, the water is significantly contaminated, and the wetland is progressively being depleted.
A faction of influential residents, including politically supported persons, is encroaching on the marsh by constructing edifices and asserting ownership through fraudulent documentation.
The wetland, now in a state of decline, is unable to effectively drain the town’s stored rainwater during the monsoon, resulting in waterlogging in adjacent areas.
Shafiqul Islam, a resident of the Biswas Betka locality, stated that water from the municipality’s canal, currently the primary drain, no longer discharges into Burai.
A group of residents has constructed edifices by infilling the canal at multiple locations. Consequently, the canal’s mouth has elevated, halting the water flow. Waterlogging transpires anytime precipitation occurs,” he stated.
Rafiqul Islam, a local inhabitant, stated, “Merely twenty years ago, we utilized the pristine waters of Burai for bathing.” It is currently highly filthy and unclean. The aquatic habitat was teeming with indigenous fish, and migratory birds frequently congregated here. Currently, anything is absent. It diminishes daily, and for the majority of the year, it is devoid of water.
Gautam Chandra Chanda, divisional coordinator of the Bangladesh Environmental Lawyers Association, stated, “If the boundaries are not promptly established, and the encroachment is not eradicated and the beel excavated, this vital water body may be irrevocably lost.”
Ratan Ahmed Siddiqui, general secretary of the Tangail River-Canal-Waterbody Protection Movement Committee, stated that they have long advocated for the safeguarding of the water body, although no measures have been implemented.
Upon contacting the nearby Municipal, Karatia, and Gharinda union land offices on the water body, this correspondent received no information from the offices.
The Nirbahi Officer of Tangail Sadar Upazila, Nahida Akter, stated that she was unaware of any information regarding the water body. She would discuss it thereafter after acquiring the information.
Md Shihab Raihan, Deputy Director of the Local Government Department and Administrator of Tangail Municipality, stated that the government is actively contemplating a proposal to resolve the issue.
