A female crocodile named Dhala Pahar of the historic Khanjali Dighi (lake), situated on the south of the holy shrine of the great saint Hazrat Peer Khaja Khan Jahan Ali (peace be on him), 5 kilometres away from here died on Thursday. With the death of Dhala Pahar, the reign of the crocodiles of sweet water spice in the Dighi for long 6 hundred years was ended for ever. At present there are 2 crocodiles of sweet water. They were brought from Madras crocodile bank in India in the year 2005. In the morning on Thursday when the death news of the crocodile spread in the localities hundreds of people from all walks of life rushed to the holy shrine to see the crocodile. Many of the attendants (Khadems) of the shrine shed tears. Being received the sad news Bagerhat district administration, police administration forest department and Livestock department reached the spot. At about 12 am after the autopsy of the dead crocodile was done by a medical board of live-stock department headed by Sukhendra Kumar Gayen, Bagerhat district Livestock Officer its body and skin were handed over to Bagerhat district administration and the forest department. It is primarily guessed that it died when it was, perhaps, caught in the fishing net cast in the Dighi illegally for catching fish or due to gathering of excessive fat in its body. The real cause behind its death will be ascertained after getting the postmortem report.It was learnt from Sukhendra Kumar Gayen, the district livestock officer that the dead crocodile was 9 feet in length and 6 feet in breadth. It is further learnt from him that the maximum length of a matured male crocodile is 11 feet. He also disclosed that a crocodile could leave 130 to 170 years. The dead crocodile was about one hundred years old.It may be motioned here that Bagerhat region is a saline area. So, scarcity of fresh water has been prevailing in the area from the ancient time. In the early 15the century when Hazrat Peer Khaja Khan Jahan Ali established here a subordinate kingdom named Khilfatabad under Nasir Uddin Mahmud Shah of Bengal he excavated a number Dighis (lakes) including Khanjali Dighi in the area as sources of fresh (drinking) water. In order to maintain the purity of the fresh water of Khanjali Dighi he released a pair of crocodiles of sweet water spice in it and named them as Kala Pahar and Dhala Pahar. The dead Dhala Pahar was the last descendant of original Kala Pahar and Dhala Pahar.Bagerhat Correspondent
