Staff Correspondent: With the arrival of monsoon, the unprotected canals of the city become deadly traps. This time, six-month-old Sehrish was lost in an instant. On Friday, April 18, at 8 PM, Sehrish was on her way to her aunt’s house in Kapasgola, sitting on her grandmother Ayesha and mother Salma Begum’s lap. When it started raining, they got off the CNG and boarded a battery-operated rickshaw inside an alley. Little did they know this rickshaw would seal Sehrish’s fate.
While entering the alley, the battery-operated rickshaw lost control and fell into Hijra Canal near Nawab Hotel in Kapasgola. Although locals and bystanders quickly pulled up Salma and Ayesha, Sehrish disappeared into the knee-deep canal water.
Despite an overnight search, Sehrish’s body was not found. On Saturday, April 19, 14 hours after the incident, Sehrish’s lifeless body floated about 5 kilometers away from the site of the accident, in a canal near her home at Asadganj’s dried fish market. The tragic incident has cast a pall of sorrow over the area.
Upon visiting Sehrish’s house at Asadganj’s dried fish market, a somber atmosphere was evident. The usual hustle and bustle of the market were nowhere to be seen.
Chattogram City Corporation (CCC) Mayor Dr. Shahadat Hossain was present during this time and had been by Sehrish’s family’s side since the accident. He stated that the reckless driving of the battery-operated rickshaw caused the tragedy.
This is not the first time such an incident has occurred in Chattogram’s canals. Over the past four years, at least ten lives have been lost in unprotected canals during the monsoon season. In June last year, a seven-year-old child was swept away in the current after falling into a canal.
On August 25, 2021, vegetable vendor Saleh Ahmed went missing after falling into an open canal during rain at Muradpur intersection. His body was never found despite extensive rescue operations. On September 27, 2021, university student Sehrin Mahbub Sadia died after falling into a canal while walking in the Agrabad area.
In 2022, a child named Kamal went missing after falling into a canal in Sholoshahar. His body was recovered three days later in Muradpur. On August 28, 2023, one-and-a-half-year-old Yasir Arafat went missing after falling into a canal in Rangipara, Agrabad. His body was recovered 16 hours later by the fire service.
In June 2024, seven-year-old Sadiul Islam went missing after falling into a canal in Gosaildanga, Agrabad. His body was recovered the next day from Nasir Canal.
Most recently, Sehrish drowned in front of her mother’s eyes. This heart-wrenching incident marks yet another tragic chapter for the city’s residents.
When asked how many more deaths the city must witness, Mayor Shahadat stated that barriers have already been installed in most canals, and the remaining work is near completion. He added that such deaths are never acceptable, but ongoing drainage projects had necessitated the temporary removal of safety barriers along certain canals.
Sehrish’s funeral prayers were held at the Asadganj Dried Fish Market Jame Mosque after Zuhr prayers. Later, she was laid to rest in her family’s graveyard next to Sonamia Jame Mosque in Bakalia.
