Abdul MannanTamim,Tajumuddin (Bhola)

A large part of the 6 km embankment of Tajumaddin Upazila of Bhola has been breached. The residents of the three unions are panicking, due to the increase in water pressure due to heavy rains, the embankments in Chandpur, Sonapur, Chachandra Union Darichadpur, Keamulyah, Kanchanpur, Gurinda, Katakhali areas have been eroded.

As a result, about one and a half lakh people of the upazila are spending their days in fear. Due to the negligence of the water development board and the contractor appointed for the city protection dam, the embankment will break at any moment and water will sink in the locality. If quick action is not taken, the whole upazila may be flooded.

It can be seen in the area affected by surface erosion, the waves hit the embankment due to the effect of water pressure and low pressure in the Meghna River.

According to Bhola Water Development Board Division-II sources, 6 km city protection dam and bank protection blocks and geo bags were constructed in Tajumuddin in the financial year 2018-19 at a cost of about 5 crore rupees.

After that, in the fiscal year 2022-26, construction of a total of 28 kilometers of embankments, geo bags, blocks, dumping, switzgate and road paving projects including 2 kilometers in Sonapur part of Tajumuddin and 6 kilometers in Chandpur, Chachandra parts up to Betua started with the allocation of about 11 hundred crore rupees.

However, the locals complain that the work is slow due to the negligence of the water development board and the contractor. As a result, several parts of the former embankment collapsed due to the pressure of the water. Also, due to the slowness of the work, the houses of many families have already collapsed and become submerged in the river.

Locals said that the contractor’s people are taking sand from the Meghna river due to which the intensity of erosion is more. In addition, broken embankment tubes, geo bags and sand that have been provided have been taken from the river in front.

Former UP member of Chandpur Union, Bashir Ullah said, if the broken part of the embankment is not repaired quickly, there is a danger that the embankment will burst and flood the locality at any time.

Rezaul Ahmed, side engineer of the project number 5 side B, J Geo Textile said, the work is stopped due to the monsoon season. There is a shortage of labor and sand. Still efforts are being made to preserve the dam through tubes, geo bags.

Hasan Mahmud, Executive Engineer of Bhola Water Development Board Division-2, said that the concerned contractors have been instructed to repair the part of the embankment where the erosion has occurred.