35,000 marooned as 2 rivers burst dams in Asasassuni

A girl in flood affected Assassuni taking her fowls to a safe place yesterday.Photo: STAR

Over 35,000 people are marooned as the flood situation in Assassuni upazila in the district further deteriorated yesterday as waters continued to gush out through the three breaches in Kobadak and Kholpetua rivers.
The Kobadak burst its embankments at Kurikaunia and Chakla points on Thursday. The Kholpetia river dam gave in at Khorishkhola yesterday.
Over 568 families have taken shelter in educational institutions and on high lands.
The affected villages are Kurikaunia, Pratapnagar, Nakna, Goalpara, Khajra, Sanatankati, Baintala, Gar Padmapukur, Kalyanpur, Shirshira, Goalkati, Rayerbeel Harishkhali, Moderbaria, Banyartala and Dargatalarati in Pratapnagar union.
Standing aman crops on 25,000 acres reeled under water that washed away shrimps from 756 enclosures, locals and officials said.
Scarcity of drinking water is prevailing in affected areas as most of the tube wells have gone under knee deep floodwater, Pratapnagar Union Parishad (UP) chairman Abdul Mannan said.
He said the villages were flooded as the Water Development Board did not take any action when signs of breach in the embankments appeared in Friday.
Local people said cracks were developed on the embankment on Friday they were trying to reconstruct the embankment on self-help basis since then. Local people tried to repair the breaches but all their efforts were washed away by the strong current of water, he said.
Satkhira Water Development Board (WDB) official Shahidullah said they are trying to reconstruct the collapsed embankments but failed due to heavy current of water.
Assassuni Upazila Nirbahi Officer (UNO) Ananda Mohon Biswas said the administration with the help of local people are trying to mend the collapsed embankments but their efforts were deterred by the flow of water.