Villagers repair dyke to save crops

Residents of four villages under Kalapara upazila of the district have voluntarily started repairing a damaged embankment to save their crops from saline water.

Over 100 villagers started the repair work on Friday.

A section of the flood control embankment of polder no 46 at Umedpur village in Nilganj union under the upazila was badly damaged in the recent tidal surges, allowing saline water from nearby Ramnabad river to enter the paddy and vegetable fields.

Several hundred acres of land in six villages -- Umedpur, Uttar Haldia, Dakkhin Haldia, Laskarpur, Mohonpur and Hakimpur -- are under threat of saline water entering the fields, said Abdul Khaleq, 50, a farmer of Umedpur villages.

Many who cannot take part in the repair work physically are contributing money, said farmer Alamgir Hossain.

"We requested the union parishad (UP) chairman and member to repair the embankment to save the crops on our lands," he added.

UP Chairman Md Nasir Uddin Mahmud said they raised the problem several times in the upazila development and coordination meeting this year, but the Water Development Board (WDB) did not listen.

Executive Engineer of Kalapra WDB Md Abul Khayer said they have sent an estimate for repair of the embankment to the higher authorities, but have not got any allocation yet.