The Dholia lake in Matiranga municipal town, Khagrachhari, is filling up with illegal encroachment and waste. Owned by the upazila administration, the lake once produced fish and was the town's only water source for fighting fires, Krishi Shomoy's Khagrachhari correspondent reports.
Homes and shops have been built along both banks and rubbish is dumped from them regularly. Waste and sewage from nearby hotels and houses have turned the water black and foul-smelling, and the lake is now a breeding ground for mosquitoes and flies.
Local trader Md Ali Akkas says the bathing steps that once stood on the bank are unusable. Another resident, Abul Hashem, wants the lake cleaned and restored quickly.
Harun Mia, inspector at Matiranga fire station, says his team raised the encroachment at a law-and-order meeting. With the whole lake shrunk and full of rubbish, there is no way to draw water if a fire breaks out.
Parvir Akter Khondaker, executive officer of Matiranga municipality, says many people have built shops and homes on the lake; a proposal has been made to recover it and bring it under a government project, and she hopes a mobile court will act. Khagrachhari deputy commissioner Md Anwar Sadat says effective steps will be taken, after verification, to make the lake usable.
Source: Krishi Shomoy
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