Now all that remains is memory

Once Dhaka was adorned with several hundred ponds. Like canals, only a handful exist now. But they are also in death throes due to negligence of the authorities concerned. Although, according to the Field, Open Space, Park and Natural Water Body Protection Act 2000, filling up of any water body including pond is illegal, it's going on unabated. The Daily Star found 63 ponds in the maps of undivided Dhaka City Corporation (DCC) in its 28 wards out of 90. A survey for the map was carried out between 2003 and 2011. But many of the water bodies were filled up before the period and also even after the survey. We are publishing the second report of the series today covering the then DCC ward-89, which is now ward-53 of the Dhaka South City Corporation.Even around 15 years ago, every Friday after the Juma prayers people would hurriedly gather on Fazil Ali Sardar Road popularly known as Commissioner Road in the capital's Jurain area.

Even around 15 years ago, every Friday after the Juma prayers people would hurriedly gather on Fazil Ali Sardar Road popularly known as Commissioner Road in the capital's Jurain area.

Locals as well as others from the neighbouring areas would form a queue beside a water body; and soon a constant buzz of chatter would fill the air.

The area -- under ward-89 of Dhaka City Corporation (now 53 of Dhaka South City Corporation) -- would wear a festive look then, and the queue would keep on getting bigger.

The line was to buy a Tk 200 token for fishing in an around 10-bigha pond beside the road.

The owner used to cultivate fish in the pond and let people fish there on Fridays after buying a token, said Mohammad Salauddin, a shopkeeper in the area.

People from other neighbourhoods would also drop by, he said. “It was a gathering of friends and neighbours.”

Everyone would be in a celebratory mood, reminisced many of the elderly residents.

The children would sit patiently next to their fathers while they fished. Soon the children would get bored and start playing amongst themselves, while their mothers chatted on.

Now the pond only remains in memories as it has been replaced by buildings.

The privately-owned pond was filled up around 15 years back, and the owner started selling it as plots.

One Ahsanullah, the owner, sold it to around 53 persons dividing the water body into the same number of plots in 2003-2004, said residents of the area.

The pond, however, is not in the base map of Dhaka City Corporation as the survey for the map was carried out in 2006. The pond was filled up before that.

The owner along with his family left the area soon after selling the water body.

No one was allowed to take a bath or swim in the pond as it was being used for fish cultivation, recalled many of the elderly locals. They said the fishing stopped as the owner started filling it up.

Imdadul Islam, a businessman in the area, whose father purchased a katha of land from the owner, said the pond was there since before the Liberation War. It was a clean-water pond.

“The owner started to fill up the pond after 2003-2004,” he said. Since then, it was being filled up gradually, he added.

“We used to catch fish here,” he said pointing towards a corner of the land, “Our home was just beside the pond.”

As the pond was filled up completely, the area had been facing waterlogging since then, claimed Ashraf Uddin, a local. He said the water body was also being used as a retention area. Many others echoed him.

“Now, many areas go under knee-deep water after rain,” he said.

There was another pond in the area -- Malek Mistri, which was filled up back in 1991/1992, he said.

The ward comprising East Jurain is around 0.736 sq km.

(Edited by Hasan Meer)