Md Abul Kalam was only 14 years old when he first dived under a pond to find his first prize: a gold chain consisting of a bhori (11.66 grams). It belonged to the wife of one of the richest men in her village in Bikrampur.

Kalam was given Tk 500 for this ‘rescue mission’.

Over the past 17 years, Kalam has explored the depths of hundreds of ponds and canals in more than 20 regions of the country. Kalam unearthed (or did not dilute) every object that could sink, from nose pins to gold necklaces and rings, from corpses to weapons and handcuffs.

Diving into village ponds and canals to find lost valuables is Kalam’s ancestral profession. It has been practiced in his family for three generations for over 60 years.

Since his childhood, Kalam followed in his father’s footsteps and learned this skill.

“I can breathe and stay underwater for more than two minutes,” Kalam said. Then he makes small dives for one minute at a time, takes a break and goes down for another two minutes.

Bangladesh is a downstream and riverine country of the Bengal delta, dotted with ponds and water bodies throughout the landscape. “People here go down to these waters for bathing, laundry and transportation. So they drop all kinds of things all the time,” Kalam said.

There are people like Kalam all over Bangladesh, especially in village areas, to find these fallen items.

In Bangla they are called ‘Duburi’ or divers. In the villages, these divers are called ‘shorno khoja duburi’ (divers who find lost gold). According to Kalam, the price is fixed between Tk 1,500 and Tk 6,000, depending on the complexity of the job and the time needed.

Although the exact number of duburi in Bangladesh’s villages is unknown, according to Nazim Uddin, a professional diver with the Bangladesh Civil Service and Civil Defense, there are around 90 divers in their department. They take part in rescue missions for the police, army and navy, as well as the local population.

“These village divers have many years of experience, so they can work in deep waters without equipment. However, the way they work can be dangerous,” Nazım said.

Vehicles used by village divers

Md Kabir Hossein has been diving underwater as duburi in Rajbari for 15 years and says he now knows Padma’s bed like the pond next to his house.

“I dived into the raging Padma to retrieve the bodies from the river bed,” Kabir said.

Isn’t it heavy to lift drowned corpses? Or is it actually scary? “While diving into the river Anhra, Jhapand I’m going on a rope mission. This is my job and they don’t look scary anymore. All I remember is that I had to bring that man to the surface for his family,” Kabir replied.

In cases where it takes Kalam all morning to retrieve the lost item, he often develops a fever after the incident. “I may be ‘semi-aquatic,’ but at the end of the day, I’m just human. And some days, especially in the winter, I get a cold or a fever.

Anhra is a rake-like piece of equipment made of iron that these divers use. Use to collect or loosen soil under water. Divers also carry a metal basket (jap) To collect lost items. They tie the basket around their waist with a rope.

“Using a rake while under water makes the job easier,” said Kalam, adding: “If the person who lost something points out the exact location, it will take less time. In this case, we charge them Tk 1,500 to Tk 2,000,” he added.

For example, a woman lost her ring while doing laundry and dishes while sitting on the ghat. It only took him a few minutes to find it.

But if they fail to indicate this, it may take Kalam an entire morning to conduct a ‘scanning operation’ on the water; This actually means searching thoroughly. In this case, the fee increases. This can also occur if the body of water has regular currents, such as a canal or river.

In such cases, Kalam’s fever may rise. “I may be ‘semi-aquatic,’ but at the end of the day, I’m just human. And some days, especially in the winter, I get a cold or a fever,” he added.

“And if you are calling me from a different county, you will also have to pay for transportation,” he added. So why would people from a different region search for it?

This is where advertising comes into play. Whenever Kalam goes somewhere, he writes his phone number on electric poles and gives the message that he is collecting valuables from underwater. Therefore, Kalam receives around 7-10 calls every month.

When Kalam is not on the water, he works in his village Kaviraj (as a folk healer) and as a snake catcher.

Traditional village divers and trained fire department divers

While our village divers Kabir and Kalam are committed to a classic Anhra and a Jhap, Nazimuddin, who is currently stationed in Rangamati, supplies scuba diving suits, compressed air cylinders, fins, masks, etc. He wears diving equipment such as:

According to Nazimuddin, there are two types among local divers; those who dive in ponds and other shallow bodies of water, and those who work in larger areas such as the ocean.

Nazım said, “The second group uses compressed air tanks because they have to go down to deep waters. You can find them in fishermen who go into the ocean. These divers mostly work to cut fishing nets under the ocean when they get stuck on something.” he said.

He continued: “In the past, most people knew how to swim, nowadays many young people travel and visit river areas, Kaptai Lake and the ocean but do not know how to swim. That is why so many young people drown.

And local duburis cannot work everywhere because they do not have the necessary equipment.”

They need scuba suits because they protect people from the underwater environment. Nazım said, “For example, as we go deeper, the pressure of the water increases. The dress protects our skin and arteries from this pressure.”

Another important equipment is the compressed air cylinder. “This is not oxygen, but air containing 80% nitrogen, 21% oxygen and other components, in short, the air we breathe,” he added.

When we dive underwater, the nitrogen in the air we breathe mixes with our blood due to the increased pressure. If you rise to the surface too quickly, the rapid drop in pressure causes nitrogen to form bubbles in the bloodstream, which can lead to decompression sickness, also known as ‘buckling’. Generally, Symptoms may include fatigue and pain in muscles and joints.

“This can also cause paralysis or other serious health problems. Therefore, it is very important to ascend slowly. A safe ascent speed is usually around 9 meters per minute, while descent can be faster, usually around 18 to 30 meters per minute, depending on conditions.

Proper safety postures are also necessary to allow your body to expel gaseous nitrogen,” Nazım concluded.