Minister Visits Construction Work in Aila-Hit Dakope
Dyke to be complete by Mar 6
A large number of people of Dakope upazila in Khulna district still live a miserable life in roadside shanties as their dwellings are frequently flooded by tidal water entering through the breached portions of embankments that got damaged by cyclone Aila on May 25 last year.Photo: STAR
State Minister for Water Resources Md Mahabubur Rahman has warned of stern legal action in case of any allegation of corruption in construction of embankments in the Aila affected areas of the south-western region. "The government will no more tolerate any sort of negligence and lame causes for delaying construction of embankments damaged by cyclone storm Aila. The Aila affected people would be able to return to their homesteads after completion of construction works of sustainable embankments within the shortest possible time under supervision of the Army," he said during his visit in Kamarkhola and Sutarkhali unions of Aila-hit Dakope upazila on Friday afternoon. Over a hundred of members of Bangladesh Army headed by Major Ahsan have been engaged since November 21 to supervise and monitor construction works of damaged embankments in Aila affected Dakope upazila under Khulna district. Construction works of embankments damaged by Aila on May 25 last year began on last November 7 at a cost of Tk 45 crore allocated by the government, said Engineer Anwar Hossain of Water Development Board (WDB). The work is expected to be completed by March 6 next year, he said. "We are delighted to see army men supervising construction works of embankments in Kamarkhola and Sutarkhali unions of Dakope upazila. Embankments need to be sustainable which can be ensured under such supervision. I am also visiting the sites and monitoring construction works," said Dakope upazila Chairman Sheikh Abul Hossain. Ten thousand and six hundred families of Kamarkhola and Sutarkhali unions will be rehabilitated after completion of embankment construction, UNO Md Daulatuzzaman said. Nearly one lakh Aila-hit people of these two unions are still staying in makeshift camps in subhuman condition without adequate food and safe drinking water. "We need sustainable embankments for better living. Aila has not only destroyed our homesteads but also thrown us into an uncertain future," said Haider Ali Sarder of Joynagar village under Kamarkhola union. So was the observation of fishermen Hafizur Rahman Gazi and Monirul Islam of Nalian village of Sutarkhali union who lost their homesteads and all fishing equipment due to the cyclone. Among others, lawmaker Nani Gopal Mandol, Khulna Deputy Commissioner Jamsher Ahmad Khandaker, Major Ahsan of Bangladesh Army, Additional DG of WDB Md Azizul Huq and Chief Engineer Abdul Mannan accompanied the state minister during his visit.
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