Anwara embankment not repaired in 18 yrs

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CHITTAGONG, July 20 (BSS) : At the advent of the monsoon, around 10,000 people of Roypur Gahira in coastal Anwara Upazila become panicky as the embankment at this point of the shore along the Bay of Bengal has not been repaired properly over the last 18 years after the 1991 cyclone.
"During every monsoon fear grips the people of the village, ravaged by the repeated cyclones and water surges as well as erosion of the Sangu River, said Abu Syed, Chairman of the Roypur Union.
The Sangu River devoured cyclone centres, over 1,000 dwelling houses, 10 madrasahs, four mosques and two primary schools apart from destroying several thousand hectares of agricultural land.
Several thousand people were displaced from about 10-sqkm area of the union from Khorda Gahira to Sapmara Khal which now lay under water, he said adding that the erosion of the river turned serious after the 1991 cyclone. Bangladesh Water Development Board (BWDB) had partially repaired the embankment from Chittagong Urea Fertiliser Factory to South Gahira at a cost of Tk 320 million (32 crore) with the financial support of World Bank.
But, the Shangu had washed away about three kilometres of the embankment within two years, Abu Syed said.
In 2000, the BWDB again made a project of Tk 80 million for repairing the embankment at Roypur with Cement-Concrete (CC) blocks. But, the board was allocated only Tk 26.7 million for the project.
Mir Habib, a resident of the locality, said A ring dam constructed at a cost of Tk eight million a few years back was also destroyed due to overflow of seawater during the full moon. A small portion of the embankment was repaired with the CC blocks in 2005, he added.
Abdul Karim of Sarenga village said strong tide at the time of Aila in April this year caused a huge loss of property and crops.
"We live with risk everyday in the rainy season," he said adding that the water surge and erosion of the Sangu River had changed the geographical map of the Anwara Upazila over the years.