Leasing out the river by classifying it as a beel

Bangla Press Desk:   “There is no law that allows a river to be leased for fish farming. Perhaps the leasing began under pressure from influential people, and it has continued since.”

— Jahangir Selim, Member, Jamalpur River Protection Committee

For many years, the Jamalpur district administration has been leasing out the Madardaha River—flowing through Melandah upazila—as a beel (wetland) for fish farming. Although water from the Jamuna still flows through the river, bamboo structures and nets are installed across it to block the current and cultivate fish.

As a result, local residents have long been unable to fish there. Anyone entering the river faces legal cases.

According to sources at the Deputy Commissioner’s office and the upazila land office, a notice was issued on 30 October inviting six-year leases for 18 water bodies in the district in which the Madardaha River was listed as “Madardaha Sabaria Beel”.

In official documents, the river’s area has been recorded as 118.84 acres across Haripur, Baniabari, Tegharia and Poila mouzas. The yearly lease value has been set at Tk217,875.

Investigations found that from Haripur village to Poila—about two and a half kilometres of river—Madardaha has been treated as a beel for decades. The process of leasing the river as a wetland began in 1986, when it was leased for Tk2,150. The most recent lease amount was Tk185,000. However, after the new notice was issued on 30 October, no one showed interest in taking the lease this time.

Local sources say that a branch of the Jamuna flows out through Dewanpara in Chindali Union of Islampur upazila, travelling via Pachabohla and Sadipati to Chinitola village as the Alai River. From Chinitola, the same river flows through Haripur to Poila as Madardaha. After Ruknaipara, it becomes known as the Katakhali, passing Bandorouha, Adra, Dantbhanga and Beltail through Sarishabari upazila before meeting the Jamuna again at the old Jagannathganj ghat.

Meanwhile, in a river inventory signed by Sumy Akter, the Additional Deputy Commissioner (Revenue) of Jamalpur, Madardaha is listed as a river. There, its source is marked as Tegharia and its endpoint as Poila, with a recorded length of two kilometres.

A visit to the site showed varying water levels—shallow in some areas, deeper in others—but the river still has flowing water. Sandbars have emerged in several places. From Haripur, the river meanders towards Poila.

Abdul Aziz, an elderly resident of Haripur, said, “Madardaha is a very old river. It existed before we were born. It begins in the Jamuna and ends in the Jamuna. The name changes in different stretches. We don’t know how it’s been leased for decades.”

Shajahan, a farmer from Poila, said, “This has been a river since our forefathers’ time. They are treating it as a beel and leasing it out. They don’t allow anyone into the river.”

Local resident Saiful added, “The leaseholders don’t let people enter the river. If anyone does, they file cases. There’s still water in the river. They cultivate fish by placing nets and bamboo barriers across it.”

Jahangir Selim, a member of the Jamalpur River Protection Committee and president of the Environmental Protection Movement Committee, said, “There is no legal authority to lease a river for fish farming. Perhaps it began years ago under pressure from influential people and continued. We do not know how the leasing has been allowed.”

Md Nakibuzzaman Khan, Executive Engineer of the Jamalpur Water Development Board, said over the phone, “I have no knowledge of whether the Madardaha River is leased.”

Additional Deputy Commissioner (Revenue) Sumy Akter said, “The leasing has been going on for years as it has always been. Madardaha is listed as a syarat water body. Whether it is a river or a beel can be confirmed by the Water Development Board. If it is indeed a river, its syarat status will be cancelled.”

BP/SP