Floodwaters fuel boat-building boom in Chalan Beel

As monsoon floodwaters begin to inundate Bangladesh’s Chalan Beel wetlands, boat builders in Natore’s Singra Upazila are working around the clock to meet soaring demand, with rising water levels prompting residents and fishermen to buy new boats and repair old ones.

The annual flooding has started reaching the low-lying parts of Singra, where water levels are rising steadily with the onset of the monsoon.

For thousands of people living in the country’s largest wetland, boats become an essential lifeline during the rainy season, when roads disappear beneath floodwaters and villages are cut off for months.

From the Bengali months of Ashar to Kartik, much of the Chalan Beel region remains submerged, disrupting road communication and leaving boats as the only reliable means of transport for commuting, accessing markets, reaching farmland and fishing grounds, and travelling between villages.

The seasonal inundation also marks the beginning of the fishing season, driving up demand for small wooden fishing boats. Along riverbanks and village workshops, craftsmen are building new vessels while repairing old ones by applying tar, replacing damaged planks and reinforcing wooden frames.

Visits to Bildahar, Kalinagar, Sherkol, Tajpur, Satpukuria, Baria, Dahia, Biyash and Singra municipality found boat-building workshops operating at full capacity as orders continued to pour in.

“My workshop mainly builds boats using koroi, hijol and mahogany wood,” said Abdul Hannan, owner of a boat-building workshop in Chaksingra.

“We have already sold around 60 new boats this season, most of them small dinghies used by fishermen. We expect to sell between 200 and 250 boats before the end of the monsoon.”

He said wooden boats are currently selling for between Tk 5,500 and Tk 6,000, while larger plain-seat boats are priced between Tk 8,500 and Tk 9,000. Boat builder Swapan Chandra Sutradhar said the monsoon is the busiest period of the year for local craftsmen.

“During the season, I build two to three boats a day and earn between Tk 1,000 and Tk 1,800 per boat depending on its size,” he said. “For the rest of the year, I work as a carpenter making other wooden products to support my family.”

Residents say buying a boat has become unavoidable despite higher prices.

“Our village is in the middle of Chalan Beel. Even moderate rainfall submerges the roads,” said Md. Rubel Hossain, a resident of Satpukuria village. “A boat is our only means of transportation during the monsoon, so I have come to buy one. But prices are much higher than last year.”

Boat builders, however, say rising prices of timber, iron, tar, bamboo and other construction materials have significantly increased production costs this year.

Afzal Hossain, who travelled from Anandanagar in Chamari Union to purchase a boat, said boats are indispensable once floodwaters spread across the wetland.

“We need boats for fishing, travelling to our farmland and visiting neighbouring villages,” he said. “There is simply no alternative during the flood season.”

Boat workshop owner Goda Kumar said soaring prices of timber and metal have pushed production costs well above last year’s levels, while demand has remained strong.

Although profit margins have narrowed, craftsmen say the monsoon remains their busiest and most important season.

“We hardly have enough work during the rest of the year,” said boat builder Abdul Quddus.

“But once the monsoon arrives, new orders come in every day. Material costs have increased, yet people continue buying boats because they are essential for daily life. Our workload has multiplied.”

With water levels expected to rise further in the coming weeks, boat makers across Chalan Beel anticipate a busy season ahead, as communities prepare to navigate months of floodwaters that transform boats from a convenience into a necessity.