The salt field canal at Pekua in Cox’s Bazar has dried up. The water in the canal is now muddy. And if that mud is set on fire, the burning happens. On Tuesday (March 19) morning, such an incident took place in Matbarpara area of Rajakhali Union of the upazila.

It is known that hundreds of eager men and women flock to see the news that there is a fire burning in the mud or that gas has been discovered.

Local Nurul Abshar said, I saw water bubbling in this place about thirty years ago. There are always bubbles in the water. However, such scenes have been seen in four or five such places. Now I saw that if you set fire to mud and water, it burns. We think oil or gas will be found here.

Abdul Mannan, a local resident, said that for a long time, I have been seeing water bubbling in two spots in this canal. Now there is no water in the canal. At around 11 am a polythene was set on fire at the spot where the bubbling was taking place and the mud mixed with water caught fire in the bubbling area. Later, when the news spread around, thousands of people gathered to watch. He commented that this is happening because of gas.

On Tuesday afternoon, it was seen on the ground that the water in the salt flat adjacent to Riaz Uddin’s house on the south side of Matbarpara Haji Market was bubbling in the middle of the canal. There is no water in the canal. A small child named Mujahid is lighting a match in polythene in the mud-filled place. And as soon as the fire of polythene is put in place of that bubble, the fire burns. Hundreds of eager men and women are crowding around to see the scene. Everyone thinks that the fire is due to gas or oil.

When asked about this, Pekua Upazila Nirbahi Officer Saiful Islam said, “I heard the matter now.” I will talk to the chairman of UP and go for inspection.