The ever decreasing flow of water in the Teesta River has been directly affecting the livelihoods of thousands of fishermen and boatmen in the seven northern districts of Bangladesh.
Many have been forced to become crop growers; but as these people have been either catching fish or paddling boats for generations, they do not own much of land.
As a result, whether they will be able to sustain in agriculture – because they neither have the experience nor own the land – remains a tough question to answer.
Since India built a barrage in Gajoldoba of West Bengal in 1977, the Teesta has never been the same mighty river it used to be.
But things have become particularly dreadful because the flow has been hitting new lows every year in recent times. On a particular day earlier this year, the measured flow in Teesta was 232 cubic feet per second (cusec), an all time low.
The impact on boatmen is quite obvious – the dryness even at the peak of wet season means that the shallow river is unfit for navigation, even for small boats.
“Even four years ago, I earned Tk200-Tk250 a day ferrying passengers. But nowadays, that earning is beyond imagination. As the flow of water in the river is decreasing, it has become impossible to survive in this profession,” said Morshed Mia, resident of Doani village of Hatibandha upazila, Lalmonirhat.
He also said many boatmen have already changed profession – most pulling rickshaws or working as day labourers.
As the flow of water falls drastically, plying of all types of water vessels has already been suspended in many of the routes. Around 60,000 people living in the 85 shoal villages in the five upazilas of Lalmonirhat have been struggling to connect to the mainland. At least 300 boatmen who operated on 42 routes have become jobless.
The problems that some 1,200 ancestral fishermen living in the Teesta basin in this district are facing have several angles.
Like many others, the family of Ali Akbar, a fisherman living on the banks of the Teesta for years, migrated to Lalmonirhat from a neighbouring district.
“We need water in the river in November-December. But water comes in the river in May-June and the breeding season of fishes is already over. The stock of fish in the river is decreasing. In March-April, the river turns into a pond. How will fishes survive in such little water?” Ali Akbar said.
Many like Akbar have expressed grave concerns with the rate at which fishes such as Boreli, Mohashol, Bagar, Piyali and Darengi have been disappearing fast from these waters.
Even four years ago, the Teesta offered plenty of fishes more than six months a year. But now, fishes are available only during monsoon.
Mohammad Nuruzzaman from the Niksheksundar village under Hatibandha upazila has been fishing in the Teesta for four decades.
“As there is no water, there is no fish in the river. We are now using mosquito nets, but even those are not catching any fishes for us. In the last three years, I have not caught any big fish. But just a few years ago, I used to catch big fishes almost every day,” Nuruzzaman said.
“A regular fishing net costs us Tk400. And it remains fit for fishing only four to five days. But we do not get fishes worth Tk400 even in a week!” said Zainal Abedin, a migrant fishermen like Akbar.
Hundreds of fishermen who live along the banks of the river and depend on it for a living have the same story to tell.
According to ecology and biodiversity researcher Pavel Partha, the irregular and thin flow in the Teesta has severely impacted the fish diversity.
“Bagar and Putital, among the commonest fishes in the river, have been gradually disappearing. People in the Teesta basin have not only been forced to switch profession, but many of them have also been displaced. Even the river-based religious and social rituals have become rare these days,” Pavel said.
Indo-Bangla Joint Rivers Commission member Mir Sajjad Hossain thinks that agriculture can be viable alternative for people dependent on the Teesta.
“We are using Teesta water for agriculture. There may be some changes in people’s livelihoods. Some boatmen might face difficulties, but their plight will not be very big,” he said.
