Mherpur June 6, (V7N)- Residents of Kathalpota, Sonapur, and Tungi villages in Pirujpur Union. Our village is located below the Dadpur (Bandh) bill of Gopalpur Mouza, which is leased from the Ministry of Land Management, Water & Fisheries by Gopalpur Majhpara Fisheries Cooperative Ltd.
 
The embankment of Kajla River, diverted by digging and flowing through Kathalpota, Sonapur, and Tungi along with several surrounding villages, is being encroached upon and dammed by a powerful group of individuals engaged in fish farming.
 
Locals report that due to the damming of the river, thousands of acres of arable land in Kathalpota, Sonapur, and Tungi and surrounding areas get submerged in water during the rainy season. As the land remains waterlogged, no crops can be cultivated. At the same time, the fish that migrate during the flooded season are forcibly caught by the leaseholders. Due to the encroachment on Kajla River, ordinary farmers are deprived of cultivating profitable crops such as golden mustard and jute. At one time, hundreds of registered fishermen used to make a living by catching fish in this river. However, due to the forceful encroachment on the river, their livelihoods have been disrupted.
 
As a result, the community in the area has become unemployed. Even when local residents go to bathe in the river, they are accused of fish theft and are brutally beaten by the leaseholders. During the dry season, when farmers need water for irrigation, they are not allowed to take water beyond the irrigation limit. Locals have been demanding for a long time to free the portion of Kajla River encroached upon illegally for the livelihood of the general public in Kathalpota, Sonapur, and Tungi villages. Legal action has been taken against 13 individuals for illegally unblocking the dam.
 
At the end of the human chain, a memorandum was provided to the district administrator for freeing the portion of Kajla River in Kathalpota, Sonapur, and Tungi villages, and for ensuring the livelihoods of the general public, including the farming population, by removing illegal dams and arrangements for their sustenance.
 
Leadership in the human chain protest was provided by UP member Ashadul Islam Asha. At this time, people from 5 villages participated in the human chain.
 
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