Dyke-cum-road across Titas being removed
The embankment-cum-road across the Titas River beside Akhaura Rail Bridge is being removed to restore normal flow of the river. The cross embankment was constructed for plying of Indian over dimensional cargoes carrying heavy equipment for Palatana power station in Tripura from Kolkata. Photo: STAR
The work for removal of 450-metre-long embankment-cum-road across Titas River at Akhaura has started finally. One excavator and several tractors have been engaged in the work that started on Tuesday afternoon. The cross embankment-cum-road beside Akhaura Rail Bridge was made under a memorandum of understanding between Bangladesh and India to dispatch over dimensional cargoes (ODC) carrying heavy equipment to Palatana Power Station in Indian state of Tripura from Kolkata via Brahmanbaria. "It will take seven to eight days for us to fully remove the embankment. All of the 15 such embankment-cum-roads, constructed beside the weak bridges from Ashuganj to Akhura, for Indian ODCs, will be removed totally," said engineer Md Farook Ahmed, the project coordinator of Gulf Orient Seaways, a Bangladeshi firm assigned for the work. A team headed by Brahmanbaria Deputy Commissioner Md Abdul Mannan visited the spot to see the work on Tuesday. As the cross embankment in the Titas vertically cut the river, navigation through the point snapped and serious decline in the river flow caused its silting. Consequently, fish and other aquatic creatures in the river as well as ecological balance in the area got endangered. The initiative to restore normal flow of the Titas River has come as a matter relief for the people of Akhaura and Brahmanbaria Sadar upazilas, especially for those who have to depend on the river for livelihood.
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