KHULNA, May 30: About one hundred families are suffering a lot as tidal surge under the impact of Cyclone Remal has caused flash flood at Dashalia village in Koyra upazila of Khulna district.
Local sources said heavy rainfall during the cyclonic storm breached an embankment of about half a kilometre causing inundation in the locality.
Local people made efforts to prevent overflow of floodwater by dumping sand sacks into the damaged embankment.
However, they could not save the dam and 70 metre stretch of the embankment breached at two places in Dashalia and flooded the locality.
Later, they tried to repair the dam voluntarily from 8am to 11:30 am on Tuesday but it was not possible to stop the flow of water.
On Wednesday morning, with the help of the Bangladesh Water Development Board (BWDB), more than five hundred local people started repairing the dam again and then it was possible to stop entry of water by making ring dam from those two points.
It is alleged that they could not press on the dam because they did not get the geo bags from the BWDB on time as a result the area was flooded and about one hundred families went under water.
Visiting the area, this correspondent found that the people of the village were facing severe crisis of fresh water and food.
Many houses were destroyed. Hundreds of shrimp enclosures in Dashalia have been washed away.
Former Chairman of Maharajpur Union and member of Khulna Zila Parishad Md Abdullah Al Mamun said that the authorities did not give any importance while the dam was broken.
Md Jasim Uddin, divisional deputy assistant engineer of Khulna Water Development Board, said, "We are monitoring all the time with the people." We provide all the equipment for dam construction. Workers' wages will also be paid."
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