Haor Boro fields vulnerable with poor, delayed work on levees

The scores of needless schemes that are being undertaken each year to construct or repair embankments around haors in the north-eastern districts are yet another way to fleece the public of their money, said concerned citizens in the region.

"The construction of the embankments in the name of protecting Boro harvest is just an eyewash [of the authorities concerned]," said Chittaranjan Talukder, member secretary of 'Sunamganjer Haorer Krishi O Krishak Rokkha Sangram Parishad'.

Everyone involved in the schemes get their 'share' of the public money and that is why more schemes mean more money to them, he also alleged.        

With the number of construction or repair scheme for levees -- meant to provide protection from flash floods -- rising every year in the haor districts, allegations of anomalies and corruption involving the schemes are also on the rise.

Early flash floods often destroy a considerable amount of Boro rice -- the major crop in haor regions -- around or before the months of April and May, the harvest time of the crop. December and January are the months when the crop is cultivated in the region.

In March 2017, weeks before the Boro harvest, a flash flood destroyed around Tk 13,000 crore worth of Boro on 2.49 lakh hectares of land in the north-eastern districts.

In order to bring most of the croplands under flood protection coverage, the government has been undertaking numerous schemes every year to build or repair levees in problem-prone areas of the haors or wetlands in the country.

Asked why earthen embankments, instead of permanent ones, are made in the haors, Sabibur Rahman, executive engineer of Water Development Board (WDB) in Sunamganj, said, since "permanent levees may destroy the ecosystems in the haors," they make those with earth.

Keeping the unique ecosystems in the haors in mind, their height is kept within 6.5 metres so floodwaters can enter the area during floods. That's why the embankments need to be reconstructed every year, he further explained.

But delays and substandard quality of works as well as unjustified and whimsical construction of the embankments may not provide necessary protection when the flash floods come, farmers and locals feared.  

On July 2, 2017, after Boro rice on 2.49 lakh hectares in the north-eastern districts were damaged in flash floods and massive irregularities centring the levees were exposed, the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) filed cases against 61 people including 15 WDB officials and 41 contractors.

Later in August 3 the same year, 139 people, including the 61 accused in the ACC case, were sued by the lawyers' union in Sunamganj.

Both the cases are still under trial.

As a means to prevent further irregularities by contractors and Project Implementation Committees (PIC) involved in the construction of levees, the government later revised the 'Kajer Binimoye Taka (KABITA) Rules, 2017'. 

As per the revised rules, contractors will no longer be awarded any work to construct embankments in the haor regions and only government officials will preside over the PICs.

Furthermore, the PICs must be formed by November 30, the construction works must start by December 15 and those have to be completed by February 28.

According to the WDB in Sunamganj, 950 kilometres of construction and repair work on levees are planned under 856 schemes in the district this year.

Surveys for the schemes were completed on December 25 last year and only 212 of the schemes have so far been approved.

Out of those, construction work of only 40 schemes started by the deadline, December 15, said WDB officials.

Bijon Sen Roy, general secretary of 'Sunamganj Haor Banchao Andolan', said, "They are way behind the schedule and they started only a handful of the works just to show that they started the work on time."

Many needless levees have been built in the previous years and this year's plan also includes similar ones.

Moreover, in their attempt to inflate the project cost, their estimated cost for each embankment is always exaggerated, he also alleged.

Kashmir Reza, president of 'Poribesh O Haor Unnayan Sangstha', said, "Haor people have been in distress during the coronavirus pandemic. If early flash floods hit the haor region this year again, thousands will face boundless miseries."

According to Department of Agricultural Extension, Boro will be cultivated on an estimated 2.23 lakh hectares of land in Sunamganj this year.

Sabibur Rahman, executive engineer of WDB in Sunamganj and also member secretary of the district committee for the schemes, said, "Most embankments in Sunamganj were damaged last year by four regular floods."

Although they were unable to complete pre-work survey on time last year as flood water receded very late, they still hope to finish their projects by the deadline this year, he added.