Southern levee improvement project nears completion
The reinforcing and heightening work of old coastal embankments in Pirojpur, Barguna and Patuakhali is going on in full swing, with the completion deadline of June 2022.
The work started on July 19, 2017 and 62 percent of it has been completed till this October, said AKM Mujibur Rahman, the supervising engineer of Bangladesh Water Development Board (BWDB).
Chinese contractor firm Chongqing International Construction Corporation is carrying out the BWDB project, titled 'Coastal Embankment Improvement Project (CEIP)'.
As part of the project, the BWDB is spending Tk 1,089.95 crore to raise the height of a 208-kilometre stretch of existing earthen embankments -- built in the 60s along the coastlines of the three districts -- from 6 metres to 7.5 metres, said Mujibur, the BWDB engineer.
Beginning at Bhandaria of Pirojpur and ending at Galachipa of Patuakhali, the embankments run along the shorelines of Patharghata in Barguna and Kalapara in Patuakhali, to create a semi-circular shield of protection from tidal surges or rise in sea level.
In addition, concrete blocks are being used along the shores to reinforce the levees where six sluice gates and three inlets are being built.
In Patuakhali, 38 kilometres of levees -- along the shores of Kalapara and Galachipa upazilas -- are being reinforced and heightened at a cost of Tk 136.78 crore.
Once completed, the improved embankments will help protect a significant number of installations on the country's southern seaboard, including tourist hotspots like Kuakata, from rising sea level due to the effects of climate change, Mujibur added.
During a recent visit, a large area on the beach of Kuakata -- in Patuakhali's Kalapara upazila -- was seen covered in neatly arranged concrete blocks.
Shahjahan Akon, a local, said he hoped that the improved levee will save croplands and houses in the area from recurring destruction.
Aside from protecting the popular beach, the embankment will be an added attraction to tourists, said Khan Imtiaz Hossain, who was visiting the area from Barisal.
Now that the improved embankment is taking shape, there is a ray of hope for local tourism industry, which has been under threat due to continued erosion of the beach, said Motaleb Sharif, general secretary of 'Kuakata Hotel Motel Owners' Association'.
Anwar Hossain Hawladar, mayor of Kuakata municipality, hoped that the levee will bring respite to townspeople from flooding and tidal surges.
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