Tanguar Haor finally escapes the clutches of plunderers'

The programme includes, restoring ecological and environmental uniformity of the 50 beels (waterbodies) and 46 villages on the banks of the vast lake, stopping indiscriminate netting of fish and extraction of natural resources, creation of employment opportunity for people living in the area and ensuring its sustainable management with participation of all stakeholders.

The programme will be implemented with government funds and assistance from the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN).

Tap here to add The Daily Star as a trusted source

The programme has been finalised at a high profile meeting held in the Ministry of Environment and Forests

(MOEF) with the minister in the chair.

"We hope to start the programme soon", Sunamganj Deputy Commissioner Jafar Siddique told the Daily Star on Monday.

The programme has been prepared considering the experiences gathered from the one-year interim programme, which concludes in November-December this year, he said.

He said, in addition to the IUCN, some NGOs would be entrusted with the task of looking after the environmental side.

Under the interim programme, the local administration ensured protection of the lake's resources and diversity by deploying joint forces comprising BDR, police and Ansars under supervision of magistrates.

This saved its resources including mother fishes of different varieties.

The 3868 acre Tanguar Haor it is the second biggest mother fishery in the country.

The protection of mother fishes produced a tremendous result. Freshwater fishes multiplied in the waterbody in only one year, the local people and officials said.

Tanguar Haor was freed from illegal occupants in November last year following an order by the Prime Minister.

The district administration took full control of the lake comprising 46 big jalmohals (waterbodies) spread over two remote upazilas in Sunamganj.

The law enforces were provided with speedboats and four

temporary camps were set up.

Random use of banned current nets were stopped and encroachers and plunderers having political links were driven out.

About 3000 pieces of current nets worth over Tk 15 lakh were seized.

Ruling BNP Whip in Jatiya Sangsad Fazlul Haque Aspia, also the minister-in-charge for Sunam-ganj district, told this correspondent that the interim programme produced a tremendous result.

Plunder of fish and plantation resources in and around the haor by vested groups, which continued for over four years earlier, is stopped since November last year. Resources worth over Tk 5 crore were looted in the four years, he said.

"The government is sincere to keep the present situation going.

"People irrespective of political opinions are also cooperating in preserving the resources and development of the lake", he said.

Tanguar Haor is home to 60,000 birds of different species and 140 varieties of sweetwater fishes and sis congenial for growth of a host of watery plants including hijal karach (barringtonia acutangula) and cane clusters.

Besides, over one lakh guest birds fly to the lake during winter.

In the wet season, the entire area looks like a sea dotted with greens covering small villages on high lands.

In the dry season, when water recedes into rivers, all that remain are 50 odd beels.

It was declared an Ecologically Critical Area (ECA) in 2000 and was taken up as a Ransar Site.

But implementation of the Ramsar project is still uncertain due to indecision by policymakers and failure in selecting financial investors. This had created the opportunity for plunder.