Embankments need care

The monsoon seemed quite hard this year. Ceaseless downpour last week might have given some solace to the farmers and nature enthusiasts like poets and artists, but it rendered sufficient pain for many facing the brunt of waterlogging, disturbed mobility, loss of property and even casualties due to land slips in certain hilly areas. The sufferings were precipitated by the influence of the cyclonic storm Komen which fortunately deviated its course and touched Bangladesh on a small scale.
It must also be noted that preparations were afoot, both by the government as well as the non-government organisations (NGOs) and private sector, to face the effects of the cyclonic storm. As such, the damages to life and property were not anything notable considering the intensity of the storm and once again, the country's disaster preparedness endeavours must be recognised with appreciation. All concerned must be praised for this too.
Though the ferocity of the flash flood brought in by the continuous rainfall does not tend to be severe, like the havoc situation in West Bengal and Myanmar, there are reports of many embankments being breached resulting in submerging of several villages and sprawl of cultivable land. Experts and media reports have time and again questioned the sustainability of many embankments across the country which were built at high cost.
It is pertinent that because of our deltaic set up, long length of embankments had to be constructed to save life, property and agriculture. Though thousands of kilometres of embankments, mostly earthen, have been constructed, many of them are faulty in terms of design and construction. Experts opine that in many cases the earthen embankments fail because of poor soil condition, flash rainfall, human activities and changes in river course. Perhaps all these were not considered well while blueprinting and constructing these barriers.
Bangladesh has achieved tremendous success in agro-production over the years and certainly the measures like constructing embankments have contributed a lot towards this mark. Reinforcement of the embankments obviously merits attention to this effect so that no dent can be allowed to spoil the success story in our agriculture.
At the same time, the climate change impacts and adaptation have to be taken into account while dealing with the embankments, particularly in the coastal areas. Bangladesh is already bracketed as a seriously vulnerable country in facing the brunt of the sea-level rise due to climate change. Experts and researchers have indicated that the scale of vulnerability can be much reduced if the embankments are drilled in a proper way. The upfront measures would include periodic repair and reinforcement as well as stopping erosion by making mangrove plantations on both sides of the barriers. At the same time, human activities on the embankments need to be controlled as well. One good reason for embankment damages is the plying of heavy vehicles on them.
It is true that Bangladesh is quite fortunate to be receiving huge volume of sediments into its lower deltaic plains. The Ganges and Brahmaputra rivers bring in the sediments which accumulate in the wetlands in southern region and edges of the Bay of Bengal. These can work as natural barriers to the inevitable impacts of sea level rise.
Monsoon will continue to make its cycle and at times create miseries. The inevitability of sea-level rise is also a proven factor. These are environmental threats, no doubt. But a greater threat could be human factor in failing to make proper management of the embankments and to prevent from damaging the wetland, mangrove forest etc. The two threats together could precipitate and brew enormous amount of human sufferings besides forcing a negative curve in the table of our socio-economic growth.
 (The writer is CSR consultant & broadcaster. e-mail: mohicsr@gmail.com)