The century-old Chandpur river port, once so full of tradition, has faded. The bustle of thousands of people at the old ghat is gone, and the timeless face of the gateway to the country's eastern region is disappearing into the past.

Once, standing on a launch, you could see the Chandpur river port, the hundred-year-old ghat, the old bazaar, ancient buildings and the minaret of a mosque. This ghat, alive with the voices of thousands, was called the Lion Gate of the East. Now it lies silent as a cremation ground. There is no clamour of launches and passengers, and none of the daily rush of the thousands who made their living clinging to its heritage. Everyone seems to have lost a great deal.

According to local people, Puranbazar is the backbone of Chandpur, and its traders find it easier to travel from Chandpur itself. Whether a rickshaw or a CNG auto-rickshaw stops at the new ghat, each has to pay money every time to keep the vehicle safe there. "We want the launch ghat to be here (at the old ghat)," they say.

Trader Zakir Hossain said people face many difficulties getting on and off at the new ghat. They cannot get onto trains, there is no permanent terminal, and there is no arrangement for getting to and from the new ghat, he said.

Shah Alam Mallik, another Chandpur trader, said carrying goods between the launches and Puranbazar is often a serious problem, and business has slowed as a result. "We want the launch ghat to come back to the Dakatia river as before, once the Dakatia is dredged," he said.

At this main link between the southern and eastern regions, thousands of people now step off launches at the new ghat into trouble: money demanded again and again, and harassment.

Passengers arriving at the new ghat with luggage and children struggle. Transport is hard to find and there is nowhere to sit. Even the bridges built for boarding and leaving the launches are in poor condition, local people say.

Locals said the new ghat was opened in place of the old one during the monsoon because the Dakatia river was steadily losing navigability and several accidents had happened while launches turned at the Meghna estuary. Two years ago the new ghat became permanent.

No infrastructure has been built at the new ghat, while the old ghat is on its way to disappearing altogether.

Source: Shykh Seraj. First published in Bengali on The Agro News.