An unusual boat rally was held in Taltali, Barguna, to protect the river and its hilsa. The event took place on 13 September on the Payra river in front of the upazila's thermal power plant.

Several environmental organisations also formed a human chain on the riverbank, in which more than 200 men and women took part.

Speakers at the human chain said hilsa numbers were falling because waste from the 307-megawatt Barishal thermal power plant was being dumped in the Payra river. They said the black smoke it emits also puts at risk the biodiversity of the Tengragiri wildlife sanctuary as well as local people's farming and health. They demanded that the coal-fired power plant project, and all coal power projects, be cancelled immediately.

Speakers included Jahangir Mia, coordinator of the Shubhasandhya Sea Beach Protection Committee; Shahjahan Sheikh, coordinator of the Tentul Baria River Erosion Protection Committee; Sultana Ahmed, coordinator of the Payra River Hilsa Protection Committee; Arif Rahman, upazila coordinator of Waterkeepers Bangladesh (Taltali-Amtali); and environmental activists Mostafiz and Imran Hossain.

Source: Jagonews24. First published in Bengali on The Agro News.