Dykes in 3 UZs badly damaged
Farmers in three upazilas are uncertain about cultivation of Aman paddy as three embankments in those upazilas have collapsed due to tidal surge and erosion, allowing the water to submerge the fields.
The areas are Bashbaria village under Dashmina upazila, Dhulia under Baufal upazila and Piprakhali under Mirzaganj upazila.
In Dashmina, the embankment on the bank of Tentulia river in Bashbaria village broke up due to erosion and heavy tidal surges.
“The river devoured my house seven times in 30 years. Now we are landless, but we once had land, cattle, cropland and dwelling house. After Sidr we got a tin-shed house from the government but that also went into the river three years ago. Since then, I have been living in a tiny house with my family of five,” said housewife Salina Begum of Bashbaria.
Bashbaria Marium Memorial Girls' High School, Akram Khan Government Primary School and Bashbaria Government Primary School are on the verge of collapsing into the river.
Marium Memorial Girls' High School Assistant Teacher SM Enayet Karim said students cannot pay attention to their studies as they are always afraid that the school might collapse any moment.
Local Union Parishad (UP) Member Abdul Halim Khan said agricultural land is also being washed away into the river and farmers cannot cultivate their land as tidal surge covers their paddy land during high tide.
Bashbaria UP Chairman Altaf Hossain Akon said Amraia village has been totally eroded and about 75 percent of Dhondhonia village has been washed away due to lack of a embankment.
“We submitted a memorandum to the higher authorities concerned to build the dyke with concrete blocks,” he said.
Water Development Board (WDB) Sub-Divisional Engineer Jabed Iqbal said they have taken up four separate projects at a cost of Tk 11.37 crore to build a 30-km-long dyke and four sluice gates to save Bashbaria area from erosion.
Erosion at Dhulia area under Baufal upazila has taken a serious turn as the dyke has collapsed.
Several hundred houses, bazars and the Bauful-Dhulia-Hosnabad road were washed into river. Many people have become landless while Dhulia Government Primary School, Mothbaria High School and the grave of language hero Syed Ashraf are about to collapse.
Baufal Upazila Nirbahi Officer Pijush Chandra De said he visited the spot recently and informed the authorities concerned about the situation and asked them to take steps to protect the area.
District WDB Executive Engineer Hanasnuzzaman said they have submitted a project proposal and work will start after approval.
A two km section of the dyke from Piprakhali to Kalikapur bank of Payra river in Mirzaganj is facing serious erosion. Piprakhali Government Primary School has gone into the river and three more primary schools and a madrasa are about to collapse.
Shamim Hossain, a local resident, said agricultural land, houses and educational institutions were devoured by the river in the last several years.
Farmer Abul Kalam said they have not been able to cultivate their lands ever since super-cyclone Sidr destroyed the dyke.
Patuakhali WDB Executive Engineer Hanasnuzzaman said they are taking steps to build a new dyke in Piprakhali area to save it from erosion.