Embankment collapse cuts off road communication

BOGURA, Aug 07: Road communication between at least 30,000 people in a dozen villages in Bogura's Sherpur and Dunat Upazilas was cut off as a flood control embankment, which underwent recent repair works, collapsed.

Around 50 feet of the Katakhali embankment in Sherpur's Sughat union was washed away by strong currents recently. The floodwater swept trees and roadside shops on its way and left villagers of serious hardship as of Thursday.

Farmers were particularly hard hit as they were unable to transport their produce at markets. Some believe the embankment failed to endure the pressure of rising water level this monsoon. However, according to some local residents, "unplanned" installation of plastic pipes during repair works on July 22 was responsible for the collapse. as water flowed through the pipes to the south side. Sughat Union Parishad's Acting Chairman Nurunnabi Mondal remarked that the repair work on the embankment during the monsoon was "unplanned."

"The work should have been carried out in the dry season to avoid such a disaster," Mr Mondal also remarked.

Mokbul Hossain, a local school teacher of Chakkalyani village in Sughat, believed that the decision to carry out embankment repairs during the monsoon season was "ill-conceived."

"Had the work been done during the dry season, the collapse could have been avoided and government funds would not have been wasted," Mr Hossain commented.

Mokbul Hossain further stated that the flood after the collapse had cut off road communication between several villages, including Chakdhali, Chakkalyani, Kalyani, Joynagar, Joylajuan, Belgachi, Jorgacha, and Aulakandi in Sughat Union, and Pecnibari, Jalshuka, Bishwaharigacha, and Bhromongathi in Dhunat Upazila.

Upazila Project Implementation Officer (PIO) Abdul Jabbar told the FE that the embankment repair was undertaken with a budget of Tk 140,000 under the 2024-25 fiscal year's Kabita (abbreviation translated as Cash for Work) scheme for irrigation benefits.

Local residents earlier organised a human chain demanding the construction of a sluice gate at Katakhali embankment.

Although the matter was reported to the Water Development Board, no action has been taken yet.

Upazila Nirbahi Officer (UNO) Ashiq Khan told the FE that the project implementation officer had been directed to take immediate steps.

He assured that sustainable embankment construction would begin soon.

Bogura Water Development Board Executive Engineer Nazmul Haque said, "We have visited the site of the Katakhali embankment. Locals are also demanding a permanent fix. We will consult with the UNO to take the next steps."

Abdus Sattar, a resident of Joylajuan village, recalled that in the past, people from both Sherpur and Dhunat upazilas could not save their crops from flooding. Water from the Katakhali canal in Chakkalyani village used to submerge the area during floods. However, in the 1990s, an American citizen took an initiative to build the Katakhali embankment along the southern bank of the Bangali River -- stretching from Pecnibari in Dhunat to Chakkalyani in Sherpur's Sughat Union -- to protect farmlands.

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