While global communities celebrate World Environment Day today (June 5), focusing on land restoration and building resilience to desertification and drought, Shutihar Dighi—a large pond located 226km northwest of Dhaka, has become a symbol of communal harmony, natural resource management, and protection against water scarcity
Given its ecological importance, the pond has become a defining feature of Barind region village, namded Barenda which is home to over 1,500 people.
It ensures a year-round water supply, and the annual income generated from nature-based fish farming at the pond converts to community development funds.
Interestingly, the pond-adjacent greeneries have turned into a bird sanctuary.
“Families irrespective of Muslims, Hindus, Buddhists, and ethnic minority people are all sharing the common benefits of the pond resources. It motivates us to maintain communal harmony,” said Hassan Ali, a representative of the Barenda Bahumukhi Samabai Samity, a multipurpose cooperative built centring around Shutihar Dighi.
The cooperative has been overseeing the pond maintenance since 2012. The year was a turning point in the Shutihar Dighi history.
In the early 1990s, the Barind Multipurpose Development Authority dug the 9-acre pond at Nezampur to mitigate drought in Nachole, a sub-district of Chapainawabganj.
Noteworthy that extreme heat and irregular rainfall have severely intensified drought conditions in Chapainawabganj and some other northwestern districts, known as the Barind Tract.
Eventually, after the pond was dug, hundreds of agrarian families built their homes surrounding the pond so that they could survive and grow crops during the dry season.
However, the intention of the local authority was otherwise. Soon after digging the pond, district administration leased the pond to outsiders, facilitating commercial fish farming there.
Barenda villagers hardly could use the pond water that was contaminated with chemical fertiliser and fish feeds. They couldn’t pump out the pond water for irrigation either.
The leasing process seemed highly competitive as the big pond generated huge profits. So, the potential leasees invested money and muscle power, and often bribed the leasing authority, to take their hold on the pond. Sometimes, they got locked in fierce clashes, fighting for control of the water body.
Amid climate change, a non-government organisation Bangladesh Resource Centre for Indigenous Knowledge (BARCIK) launched its Nachole branch in 2010 to address marginalised people’s challenges in climate change adaptation and mitigation.
While the Barenda villagers were suffering from drought and couldn’t access the pond water, BARCIK officials intervened. They not only motivated the villagers to restore the pond's ecosystem but also linked them to the Department of Social Services for broader support.
“We assisted the villagers to form a cooperative. At the same time, we lobbied the local administration so that the cooperative could take lease of the pond without bribing anyone,” BARCIK’s Associate Programme Officer Amit Sarker said.
The Barenda Multipurpose Cooperative was formed, comprising one person from each of the 250 families in the locality.
Finally, in 2012, the cooperative took a lease of the pond. It restored the pond water quality, by applying nature-based detoxicating methods.
They continued fish farming but avoided all kinds of chemical fertilisers and fish feeds.
Now, the villagers use the pond water for household chores. They pump out the pond water to irrigate their crops when the irrigation pumps turn dry during the summer.
Anwara Begum came to the village 45 years ago as a bride. She still remembers how her family suffered seasonal droughts despite living just 200 feet from the pond.
“Now, we source water from the pond for cooking, washing clothes and utensils. Our cattle drink the pond water. It seems we are the owners of the pond,” Anwara said.
The cooperative manages fish farming and the annual income from it. According to the office bearers, Tk15-20 lakh ($12,782-17,043) is generated from the pond every year.
“All the money is spent on community development. We have built a school, mosques, temples, and other infrastructures,” Hassan said.
Hassan said the cooperative established a school with the initial income earned from fish farming. He also recalled that the plan for the school touched the villagers so deeply that a widow, Lalzad Begum, donated her land for the school, and others followed her example. The school was named after her.
To add joy to the villagers, the cooperative nets a significant number of fish ahead of Eid and distributes the catches among the villagers so that everyone can get at least 200 grammes of fish.
“Conservation of Shutihar Dighi sets a good example in combating drought and environmental degradation. I am happy the local community is doing this crucial task,” Nazempur Union Parishad Chairman Aminul Haque said.
