Rahmat Khali canal, a 40-kilometre-long waterbody running through the Lakshmipur district, is on the verge of extinction due to insensible waste dumping and illegal encroachments.
Different influential locals have built illegal structures and occupied both sides of the canal narrowing the canal and hampering its navigability significantly.
Moreover, garbage and polythene thrown in various dustbins of the Lakhsmipur town, including the municipal market area, also drain into the Rahmat Khali canal.

Locals alleged that the water of Rahmatkhali canal has become unusable as the water flow of the canal has stopped due to encroachments and pollution while silt has accumulated in some parts of the canal.
As a result, the biodiversity of the area is being destroyed, the environment is endangered. However, officials of the local Water Development Board said that the canal is under the jurisdiction of the Deputy Commissioner. The district administration said that the eviction campaign would be carried out soon after listing the names of the encroachers.

The length of the Rahmat Khali canal that runs over the Lakshmipur district town is around 40 km, including 18 km, in Sadar upazila. Currently, the length of the canal has been reduced to 8 to 10 meters in the urban part of the town due to illegal encroachment and pollution, locals said.
Rahmat Khali canal flows over the market area of Chandraganj, Mandari, Jaksin and Paur towns of Lakshmipur Sadar upazila. Once this canal was used by traders from different parts of the country to reach Lakshmipur by large boats. But the canal is now almost dead.

The waste of district towns and various markets is dumped indiscriminately and unplanned way into the drains which are directly connected to the canal. No visible initiatives have been taken so far to keep the canal free from encroachments and pollution. Locals alleged that the pollution of the canal is becoming serious day by day due to the indifference of the concerned authorities.
Marjina Akhter, a resident of Lakshmipur city, said once she used the water of this canal and sat by the canal for mental peace in her leisure time. She also caught different local species of fish from the canal. But now those are just memories, he said.

Acknowledging the canal pollution, Lakshmipur Municipality Mayor Mozammel Haider Masum Bhuiyan said that the canal is being polluted due to the ignorance of the residents of Khalpar areas. It will be possible to free the canal from illegal encroachment only if the water development board and district administration take the necessary initiatives.
Meanwhile, Lakshmipur Sadar Upazila Nirbahi Officer Arifur Rahman said that the operation will be conducted based on the demand of the Water Development Board.
Additional Deputy Commissioner (Revenue) Padmasan Singh said, to save the Rahmat Khali canal, an eviction drive will be carried out soon after listing the names of encroachers.
If the once drought-prone Rahmat Khali canal is freed from illegal occupation and pollution, the canal would potentially regain its heritage and efficacy, experts opined.