Downpour damages the dyke at 26 points

Heavy downpour on Saturday caused severe damage to Mymensingh town protection embankment at 26 points.

Some of the damaged points are Khagdohor, Taltola, Kathgola, Zainul Abedin Sangrahashala, Saheb Quarters Park, Kachari Ferry Ghat, Water Development Board (WDB) sources said.

Work of the eight-kilometer embankment from Khagdohor to Bangladesh Agricultural University area began in 1998 and was completed in 2008 under the Secondary Towns Integrated Flood Protection Project (STIFPP) funded by the World Bank.

The district town got flooded due to heavy rain on Saturday and water rolled down the embankment, causing havoc on it, WDB sources said.

"We started repair work on the day and it is going on. Around 50 workers are engaged in the work," said Md Abdul Mannan Khan, superintendent engineer of WDB Mymensingh Circle.

The repair work must be completed soon as the water level in the Brahmaputra River is going up everyday. It will become difficult to repair the dyke if the water level in the river marks a sharp rise, WDB officials said.

"The repair work will cost Tk one crore and requests for urgent help have been sent to the authorities concerned," Mannan said.

Faulty drainage system alongside the embankment is the main cause of such havoc. As the water cannot flow out easily after heavy rain, it enters the gaps in the embankment that causes land subsidence, WDB sources said.

"We asked the authorities of Mymensingh municipality to clean up the drains immediately to stop water leaking under the embankment, but they are yet to start the work," they said.

A source at WBD, preferring not be named, said earth-filling on the embankment during its construction was not done properly.