Sarulia UP in Tala upazila organised the meeting to exchange opinion with local elite and NGO leaders. Held at its auditorium with Tentulia UP chairman SM Mokbul Hossain in the chair, the meeting attended by convenor of UP Forum of the region Nehalpur UP chairman Advocate Alhaj Kamruzzaman of Maniramour upazila in Jessore as chief guest and central water committee president Principal Safiqul Islam as special guest.

Speakers said if the government failed to take steps to re-excavate the dying Kobadak, over 70 UPs in the districts, will be flooded by overflowing water of the silted river in the coming rainy season causing huge probable loss of crops and property.

Flooding recurs every year as the Kobadak is dying, they said.

Because of massive deposition of silt and loss of depth, the river lost its capacity to hold water properly or endure heavy pressure resulting in heavy flooding. Moreover, it creates water logging in a vast area of land in Khulna, Jessore and Satkhira districts during the rainy season, they said. It has lost navigability due to deposition of silt as the flow of water decreased.

They alleged that over the years, encroachment by land grabbers and by raising bamboo barriers by so-called fish farmers its death has been hastened. Encroachers have built houses, shops, clubs, factories and fish farms on thousands of acres of land on the bank of the river. The river has lost navigability due to massive siltation and encroachment.

They said agriculture, transport, trade and commerce, socio-economic condition, environment and lifestyle of people in the localities are also changing fast.

They alleged that successive governments did not take any step to free the river from the clutch of illegal encroachers despite demands since 2001.

In the face of people's demand, the Bangladesh Water Development Board (WDB) took up a project to dredge the river at a cost of Tk 25 crore last year and implemented the project. But it does not bring back normal water flow of the river due to lack of continued dredging, they said.

They stressed the need for continued dredging of the river and urged the government to stop earth filling or building structures on the banks of the river by illegal encroachers.

They demanded immediate demolition of all illegal structures from the river bed to save the river from extinction.

UP leaders took up a decision that if needed they will mobilise local people to re-excavate the Kobadak on self-help basis to save the river from extinction if the government failed to do so.

They will hold a series of meetings in different areas in the region to create awareness among people. They also took up a decision to hold a roundtable conference at Dhaka to press home their demand.

Among others, district Krishak League president Biswajit Sadhu, president of SETU, a local NGO, Hashem Ali Fakir, Patkelghata Press Club president Sheikh Abdul Hai, UP chairmen- Prof. Rafiqul Islam, Maulana Rahaj Ali, Tapan Kumar Saha, Nuruzzaman, Shawkat Ali and Sekendar Ali, journalist Majibar Rahman, SM Ala Uddin addressed.

UP leaders, NGO activists, political leaders, journalists, teachers attended the meeting.