Encroachments and Illegal Structures Trigger Severe Waterlogging in Cumilla

The primary drainage channel of Cumilla city, known as Kandikhal, has been severely compromised due to widespread encroachments and the construction of unauthorized structures, resulting in acute waterlogging during even light rainfall. Originating from Uttar Chartha Nawabbari Chowmuhani, the nearly five-kilometer-long canal flows through Noargaon Chowmuhani and ultimately empties into the Dakatia River. According to the CS map, the original width of the canal ranged between 45 feet and 95 feet. However, due to rampant land grabbing, the watercourse has been reduced to narrow channels measuring only 8 to 25 feet wide across various locations.

Local residents have stated that a significant portion of the canal has been seized by people living along its banks, with many constructing multi-story buildings directly over the waterway. Furthermore, the canal has fallen victim to land grabs by roadways and various government institutions. Almost every house and building along the route features haphazard, individually constructed bridges and culverts built across the canal to facilitate personal transport. In the Chartha Chowmuhani area, markets have been built over parts of the canal and the adjoining road, shrinking the canal's width to just 12 to 15 feet. Similarly, at the Tomcham Bridge intersection, an original width of 79 feet has plummeted to 15 to 20 feet, while at Noargaon intersection, a 95-foot width has similarly dropped to 15 to 20 feet. Local observers describe the situation as a veritable competition among grabbers to swallow up the canal.

Highlighting the gravity of the crisis, local representative Ahsanul Kabir noted that 41 years down the line, most of the canal has been devoured by encroachers. Pointing out that this serves as the city's main water drainage channel, he emphasized that without recovering the canal, Cumilla's long-standing waterlogging problem can never be resolved. Activists from the Bangladesh Paribesh Andolan (BAPA), including Humayun Kabir Masud, have echoed these concerns. Ahsanul Kabir and other environmental advocates point out that a total of 40 individuals and entities—spanning private citizens alongside government and non-government organizations—face explicit allegations of occupying the canal. Masud remarked that it is deeply regrettable for government institutions themselves to create obstructions within a public canal, especially when the actions of entities like the Water Development Board, the Institute of Engineers, the Roads and Highways Department (RHD), and private actors are effectively brutalizing nature, destroying scenic beauty along the banks, and endangering the very existence of the main canal. The organization remains hopeful that the Cumilla City Corporation will take appropriate punitive measures against all violators.

In response to the escalating crisis, city authorities have initiated concrete steps to reclaim the waterway. Mo. Yusuf Molla Tipu of the Cumilla City Corporation explained that the canal serves as one of the primary conduits for removing municipal water, but residents and business owners have continuously filled in sections with soil and built arbitrary bridges and culverts, severely blocking rainwater drainage and creating widespread waterlogging. Consequently, following heavy rains on July 13, the Cumilla City Corporation deployed bulldozers to demolish two large culverts and one steel bridge built over the canal. Tipu issued a stern warning that any individuals or entities who fail to remove their unauthorized culverts and installations independently will soon face forced demolitions by the city corporation. Alongside these actions, authorities intend to demarcate the exact boundaries of the canal using RS and BS records to carry out comprehensive eviction operations against all 40 identified encroachers.