Despite immense potential, the country’s Haor region is struggling. Premature floods frequently submerge vast areas. This year is not an exception; the golden harvest was drowned in one of the most severe floods. Actually, it’s not a flood; it's artificial waterlogging. Amid various challenges, the haor is gradually losing its unique character. Roads built indiscriminately and unplanned infrastructure are disrupting the natural balance of the haor. The haor must be allowed to remain a haor. If unnecessary interference in the harbour is not stopped immediately, the future cost will be enormous. In development projects, the environment and ecology of rivers, wetlands, and lakes must be taken into account. This will ensure sustainable development and reduce public suffering.
In January 2023, a conference was held at the University of Dhaka. The theme of the conference was: “Haors, Rivers and Wetlands of Bangladesh: Problems and Remedies.” Before the technical session began, the then Planning Minister (from the Haor region) said in his inaugural speech that his government would not implement any development project that would destroy the Haor's environment. According to him, the government firmly believe in sustainable development that ensures environmental protection. No more roads would be constructed in the haor areas. Considering the region’s landforms and ecosystems, the government will only build an elevated road there if needed. As a politician, he had read the very tone of the conference and opted for the motion of the conference, which got lots of appreciation and a big “round of applause”. He didn’t say anything about the steps they are going to take to protect the ecology of the haor, while keeping the already constructed so-called ‘all-weather road’.
Previously, rainwater from regions such as Sylhet, Sunamganj, Kishoregonj, and Netrokona would quickly drain through this haor. Now, due to obstructions within the haor, waterlogging and flooding have been created.
Research has shown that at least 30 percent of the road area should remain open through culverts and bridges. Otherwise, when rainfall begins upstream, water would be blocked by the road, prolonging and intensifying floods. However, only about 2.5 percent of the area was left open by the ‘all-weather road’. Long-term rainfall data analysis shows that earlier, most rainfall occurred in May, by which time the only crop—boro rice—would already be harvested, causing minimal loss to farmers. Now, rainfall has increased in April, flooding crops before they mature.
Despite warnings from scientists and environmental activists, the road was built at a cost of approximately Tk 900 crore across the scenic haor landscape, primarily to fulfil the personal wish of a single person. Yet, questions remain among the public regarding the project’s environmental impact and economic losses. Various sources claim that the road was constructed without environmental clearance. Despite this massive investment, very few vehicles—mostly motorcycles and autorickshaws—use the road, and it generates no government revenue.
Due to the overenthusiasm of influential individuals with vested interests and some bureaucrats, this project has caused severe damage to the country’s economy, biodiversity, and environment. There is arguably no other project in the world so self-destructive for a country like Bangladesh. The heart is the heart of the nation, yet it has been damaged to fulfil the desires of a single family. One of the farmer participants of the said conference uttered the words of the heading of this article. It was simple but reflected the culture of our ‘development’.
When the round of applause was going on, the ‘honest’ minister informed the gathering that his government is going to build another ‘all-weather road’, keeping more openings for the water flow. The noise of the clap was so strong that hardly anyone could follow what he said. The ‘Haor man’ finished his term as President on April 24, 2023. Just three months earlier, on January 17, a project worth over Tk 5,500 crore was approved under the leadership of the then PM. After the power shift, high-cost interims expressed their differences of opinion on the second ‘all-weather’ road. On December 21, 2024, the Road Transport Advisor of the interim government stated after visiting the area that the interim government is reconsidering the second project, as it appears to serve the luxury travel interests of a single family rather than national interests. Not only the RT advisor, but also the Fisheries and Livestock Advisor stated in April 2025 that constructing the all-weather road in the haor was a mistake and that those responsible should be held accountable. She emphasised that the project caused significant environmental damage despite heavy financial investment. People hoped these were not just political rhetoric, but as time passed, they found their hopes were far from reality.
Is it only hampering the rice production?
Local farmers reported that since the embankment was constructed, rice quality has deteriorated because excess rainwater is trapped in fields for longer periods. But the loss is not confined to rice production only. A quality harvest also ensures the livelihoods of livestock, the other livelihood of the haor. Almost all farmers in the Haor region raise cattle in proportion to the amount of land they cultivate. In the low-lying areas, farmers use this natural straw to feed their livestock during the six months of the rainy season. During the other six months of the dry season, they graze their livestock on pasturelands.
Despite warnings from scientists and environmental activists, the road was built at a cost of approximately Tk 900 crore across the scenic haor landscape, primarily to fulfil the personal wish of a single person.
In addition, they also earn by selling the straw. In a normal situation, farmers dry their rice after harvest and store it in granaries, then dry the straw and stack it in dome-shaped heaps known as “straw domes” or “lachi.” But unlike other years, across the harrowing areas, rotten straw from nearly every farmer’s threshing yard is emitting a foul smell. Even when spread out under the sun to dry, the straw has become limp and spoiled again after getting soaked by rain. Asma Bibi rightly said, losing the straw after losing the paddy feels very much like “adding insult to injury.” Many fear that, due to the fodder shortage, they may even have to sell their cows.
Distress selling started before the real distress in
Some have already started making inquiries in the market. However, because the crops have been destroyed, people have little money in hand, and as a result, livestock prices have also dropped. Farmers say they have now given up the idea of harvesting rice from under the floodwater. Instead, they are trying to dry the sprouted rice in the sun so that at least some of it can be made suitable for food, while also saving the straw for cattle feed.
What about the fisheries
Over the past few days, visits to the harrowing areas revealed a strong stench of rotten straw coming from the threshing yards and raised embankments. Since the threshing grounds have gone underwater, the straw stored there has also rotted. In some places, the water has turned black, killing fish. At other times, farmers would catch fish from these waters to make a living. This year, that too will not be possible. This situation reminds us of the cruel horror of the 2017 flood. Large-scale fish deaths were recorded at that time. That was caused by a combination of ecological and water-quality shocks rather than by flooding alone. The 2017 haor flood became an important case study in Bangladesh because it showed how agricultural disaster, livestock crisis, and aquatic ecosystem collapse can happen simultaneously in a floodplain economy. The death of fish also meant that many farming families lost a secondary emergency food and income source just when their rice crops had already been destroyed.
Researchers, fisheries officials, and local observations pointed to several interconnected reasons, such as:
These factors led to rapid environmental shock to fish and reduced fish survival. It's also affected the fish's breeding and feeding habitats. We should not forget that the haor ecosystem depends on seasonal timing. The 2017 flood arrived before harvesting season, disrupting spawning grounds, aquatic plants, and food chains. Eggs, fry, and juvenile fish were especially vulnerable.
Cheese industry of Austogram
Apart from the fodder crisis, upazilas like Austogram are facing the risk of sand cover. Road infrastructure has altered the natural flow dynamics of the haor, leading to the deposition of sand on agricultural lands and buffalo grazing grounds. The buffalo is the backbone of our cottage cheese industry. Due to prolonged waterlogging, layers of sand accumulate on cropland, burying fertile loamy topsoil. In other words, the soil quality deteriorates. Raising and maintaining buffalo stock for cheese production is becoming increasingly difficult.
Image
Forced from submerged threshing yards, farmers dry-salvage crops on the controversial all-weather road blamed for the haor's artificial waterlogging. Photo: Orchid Chakma
So what?
We need a firm “political will’ to protect the haor and its livelihood, not mere political rhetoric. Saving the ecology of Bangladesh’s haor system requires moving from a philosophy of “controlling water” to one of “living with water.” Haors are not ordinary land; they are dynamic floodplain wetlands whose ecological health depends on seasonal flooding, sediment movement, fish migration, and open hydrological connectivity.
To save the haor, Bangladesh must recognise that it is neither “unused land” nor simply a flood problem, but a living ecological infrastructure. The future of the haor depends on:
If the haor survives, the ecological and food security systems of northeastern Bangladesh survive.
Gawher Nayeem Wahra is a researcher and writer. He can be reached at [email protected]
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