Fighting Flood, Erosion: Monsoon nears, projects nowhere

At least two dozen river dredging and embankment protection projects aimed at combating floods and erosion across the country are set to miss the deadline of this June due to fund crunch, red tape, and mistakes in assessments.

Completion of these projects is now uncertain particularly because the government opted for austerity measures against the backdrop of the Covid-19 economic downturn, a top official of Bangladesh Water Development Board (BWDB) confirmed.

The projects are crucial to reducing the damage of croplands and displacement of hundreds of thousands of people, a common phenomenon during the monsoon when rivers of the country swell, said experts.

Last year, floods damaged crops on over 1.58 lakh hectares of land in 37 districts -- worth around Tk 1,323 crore -- according to agriculture ministry data.

Quoting the Ministry of Disaster Management and Relief, Centre for Policy Dialogue (CPD) in an assessment of last year's floods noted that around 54.5 lakh people in 33 districts were affected.

More than four kilometres of embankments were damaged in 97 unions, two to four kilometres of embankments in 53 unions, and up to two kilometres of embankments in 70 unions.

CPD observed that the government's flood management and control activities are apparently losing steam. It stressed the need for carrying out timely restoration of affected and faulty embankments.

BWDB is currently carrying out more than 100 projects worth around Tk 42,868 crore mainly for the protection, dredging and excavation of rivers and canals in the country.

The two dozen projects which are getting delayed were undertaken 2016 onwards.  

UNTOLD DAMAGE LAST YEAR

During the rainy season last year, the fury of the Arial Khan river caused massive damage to croplands and homesteads in Shibchar upazila of Madaripur.

In January last year, long before the floods hit during the monsoon, the BWDB had undertaken a Tk 394.47 crore project for dredging and protecting the river banks. However, as of this month, the authorities are yet to appoint a contractor due to bureaucratic tangles.

"Had the project been implemented on time, the flood wouldn't have caused that much harm to us," said Akhteruzzaman, chairman of Shibchar's Sannasirchar union.

The floods last year severely damaged four unions in the upazila situated on the banks of the Arial Khan.

"Many people of the area who lost their land and homes in the floods are still struggling,'' said Akhteruzzaman.

Kuddus Daroga, a UP member of Duttapra union, said around a hundred houses were eroded and thousands of people went through untold sufferings last year.

"Another monsoon is only a month away. If a flood hits again, more people will become homeless," he said recently.

Contacted recently, BWDB's Executive Engineer and Project Director Partha Pratim Saha said, "The board opted for Direct Procurement Method for the work [on the Arial Khan river]. It is currently pending approval from the Cabinet Committee on Government Purchase."

He added they have to go through many procedures that delay most of these flood management and control projects.

Work to protect both banks of the Dharla river in Kurigram district from flooding was scheduled to start in March last year. But BWDB only floated the tender recently.

Mistakes in assessment by BWDB officials also caused delays in the project to protect the banks of the Ichhamati river in Karnaphuli upazila of Rangamati.

The two-and-a-half-year-long project, supposed to end this June, was divided into 15 packages. One of the packages was to protect the right side of Ichhamati whereas the work needed to be done on the left side of the river.

"The matter [mistake] came to the fore at the time of floating the tender. It was later revised," said Project Director Nurul Islam, adding that it was one of the reasons for the delay.

Re-excavation of the Kumar river in Faridpur was a Tk 250.81 crore project, which was started in 2016 with the project completion date fixed at December 2020. The deadline was later extended. 

At a project evaluation meeting on October 27 last year, it was identified that the contractor had not mobilised enough dredgers to complete the work on time.

BWDB Additional Chief Engineer and Project Director Abdul Hekim told the meeting that despite his repeated correspondence with the contractor on adding another six 16-inch suction dredgers, he did not see any progress.

Contacted, BWDB Director General AKM Waheduddin Chowdhury said they have extended deadlines of the Kumar river's excavation without extra costs.

FUNDS CRUNCH

In regards to the overall situation, the DG said BWDB needs money to complete 40 projects by June but the government's recent decision to conserve spending has created uncertainty.

"If we do not get money, I am afraid that these projects might be delayed."

He added that last year during the Covid-19 closure, they could not mobilise workers and equipment -- which slowed the progress of many projects.

"Once again, we've been trapped by Covid-19. The deadline of many projects will be extended but we'll try to complete our job without escalating costs."

Dr Ainun Nishat, water resources and climate change specialist, said delays not only escalate costs but also cause great suffering for people.

He held the fiscal year system as one of the major reasons for project delays.

Most of the time projects are adopted one or two months before the beginning of a fiscal year in June and when funds are allocated, the rains start. Therefore, BWDB fails to carry out the work and projects are delayed, he said.

"If we can begin our fiscal year in March or April, money will be allocated in October and they will be able to do work in the dry season in December or January," Nishat added.