Encroachment, waste dumping push Burai Beel to the brink

Burai Beel, a natural wetland located near eastern part of Tangail district town, is rapidly shrinking due to continuous pollution and encroachment.

Once used by locals to travel from neighbouring areas to the district town, Burai Beel also served as a natural reservoir of local fish species, allowing local fishermen earn a living.

For years, Tangail Municipality has been dumping waste water from the eastern and central parts of the town into Burai Beel through various drains. As a result, the wetland's water is heavily polluted and gradually being filled up.

At the same time, a section of influential locals, including politically-backed individuals, are occupying the wetland by filling it with structures and claiming ownership with fake documents.

Now on its deathbed, the wetland can no longer drain the town's accumulated rainwater during the monsoon, causing waterlogging in surrounding areas.

Shafiqul Islam, a resident of Biswas Betka area, said water from the municipality's canal, now the central drain, no longer flows into Burai.

"A section of locals has built structures by filling the canal in various places. As a result, the mouth of the canal has become elevated and the flow of water has stopped. Waterlogging occurs whenever it rains," he said.

Rafiqul Islam, another resident, said, "Just two decades ago, we used to bathe in the clean water of Burai. Now it is very polluted and dirty. The waterbody was full of native fish and migratory birds used to flock here during winter. Now there is nothing. It is shrinking day by day, and for most of the year there is no water."

Gautam Chandra Chanda, divisional coordinator of the Bangladesh Environmental Lawyers Association, said, "If the boundaries are not immediately demarcated, the illegal structures are not removed and the wetland is not excavated, this important waterbody may be lost forever."

Ratan Ahmed Siddiqui, general secretary of Tangail River-Canal-Waterbody Protection Movement Committee, said they have been demanding protection of Burai Beel for a long time but no action has been taken.

When this correspondent contacted the adjacent Municipal, Karatia and Gharinda union land offices to inquire about the waterbody, the offices could not provide any information.

Tangail Sadar Upazila Nirbahi Officer Nahida Akter said she did not know anything about the waterbody. She would talk about it later after finding out.

Md Shihab Raihan, deputy director of the Local Government Department and administrator of Tangail Municipality, said the government is actively considering a project to address the issue.