Bagerhat WDB embankment in danger

A 200-metre stretch of an embankment of the Water Development Board (WDB) was washed away in Southkhali union of Sarankhola upazila yesterday.

Moreover, huge cracks have developed in at least 10 points within one and a half kilometres of the embankment from Bogi Bazar to Gabtala Bazar area.

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During high tide, water enters through the breaches on the embankment built under the Coastal Embankment Improvement Project (CEIP) funded by the World Bank.

As a result, cropland, houses, fish enclosures and ponds in the area are flooded on a regular basis.

Locals alleged that the WDB authorities had given priority to less vulnerable points of the embankment and neglected the more vulnerable ones near the Baleshwar river.

Southkhali Union Parishad Chairman Mozammel Hossain said, ''In order to make the 63-kilometre-long embankment sustainable in the Sidr and Aila affected areas, a Chinese company named CHWE started work on January 26, 2016 at a cost of around Tk 300 crore. 

''However, they did not work much in the 20km risky areas of Bogi, Gabtala, North Southkhali, South Southkhali and Rayenda sections of Sarankhola upazila,” he added.

The UP chairman expressed his frustration at the project saying they did not see much hope from it.

Upazila Nirbahi Officer Lincoln Biswas said, “The authorities have been asked to take immediate action to protect the embankment.”

Engineer Shyamal Dutta of CEIP said they were working in other points as the embankment was strong in Bogi and Gabtala Bazar areas at the beginning of the project.

As the embankment experienced a collapse, they have been trying to protect the areas by building ring dams and using soil sacks on an urgent basis, he added.