Teesta erosion: Part of dam caves in 10 months after repair
Some 150 families are in fear of losing their homesteads in Lalmonirhat Sadar upazila as part of a flood protection dam across the Teesta collapsed.
Residents of Khuniagachh village said the dam was repaired by the Water Development Board (WDB) only 10 months ago.
If the repair had been done properly, part of the dam would not have caved in so soon, they said.
Aslam Mia, a local resident, said the WDB readied 5,000 sand-filled geo-bags for the dam last year. However, it dumped only 4,000 in a hurry. The remaining 1,000 geo-bags are now lying on an island.
A 40-metre stretch of the 300-metre dam has collapsed, locals said.
Another villager Nizam Uddin said they were worried as their homesteads could be devoured by the Teesta any time due to erosion.
Villagers are trying to save the dam from further damages by dumping sandbags themselves, he added.
Kamruzzaman Sujan, chairman of Lalmonirhat Sadar Upazila Parishad, said he inspected the dam with the executive engineer of WDB.
He said the dam would be repaired before any flood hit the region.
Mizanur Rahman, executive engineer of Lalmonirhat WDB, said a letter was sent to the higher authorities seeking fund for repair after an inspection of the damaged dam.
He claimed that there was no irregularity in the previous year's work. "Any riverbank structures can be washed away by the torrents of water."
Comments