Town protection embankment, riverside villages face erosion threat

Illegal sand lifting from the Poulee river, a branch of Jamuna, in Tangail's Kalihati upazila has been continued unabated.

Moreover, the sand carrying trucks are using the embankment-cum-road to supply the sand in different areas, leaving many riverside villages and the embankment under erosion threat in the upcoming monsoon.

Locals alleged that an influential quarter has been lifting sand illegally from west side of the Poulee Bridge and the eastern part of the Poulee Railway Bridge on Dhaka-Tangail highway for long.

The ill practice was stopped from only a few days after the local administration launched mobile court drives against the perpetrators.

But, recently they got back into the business once again.

The sand traders, however, claimed that they have been lifting sand from their own lands after taking permission from the authorities concerned.

They said alongside the riverside villages, the Tangail Town Protection Embankment, also known as Silimpur-Karatia Embankment, is facing serious erosion threat as the sand traders are using the embank as a road to transport the lifted sand on large trucks.

Villagers said frequent movement of the trucks on the earth-filled embankment is also causing severe dust pollution, resulting respiratory problems among many residents of nearby villages.

They do not even dare to protest the illegal act as the syndicate men are quite powerful and many of them have political clout.

Several small and large cracks already developed at different places of the embankment, which was constructed under Compartmentalization Pilot Project (CPP), spending Tk 120 crore in 2000.ro

If the embankment breaks during the monsoon, vast areas in Tangail town, Gala and Gharinda unions in Sadar upazila, and adjacent Basail upazila could be flooded.

Mohammad Sazzad Hossain, executive engineer of Water Development Board (WDB) in Tangail, said concerned upazila and district administrations have been informed of the matter.

It is important to take action and protect the embankment, he said.  Kalihati Upazila Nirbahi Officer Nazmul Hossain said they were conducting drives to stop the illegal sand lifting and sale.