Our Correspondent, Chandpur :
Again a big portion (over 50 metres) of the main dam of the 63-Km long embankment known officially as ‘Meghna-Dhonagoa Irrigation Project cum Flood Control Embankment’ covering Matlab Uttar and Matlab Dakhshin Upazilas of the district suddenly developed cracks and the concrete cement blocks and sand bags at the vulnerable spots went/sank down the Meghna river on Saturday last making the local people too much worried.
Water Dev Board officials including Executive Engineer Md Mamun Howlader said ‘Due to the pressure of water of the Meghna River, over 50 metres of the dam has been affected”. But they have assured the locals that ” ”You have no cause for worries and anxieties for this breach. It is going to be repaired soon”.
According to the locals, some people and pedestrians at first saw the concrete cement blocks on Saturday morning at 10 am, gradually sinking down one after another at Janata Bazar under Farazi kandi union of the Upazila and they at once shouted. Then all other people rushed and became worried. At once, they dam the Water Development officials about the sinking down of blocks of the bundh and waters were going inside the dam through the breaches and crevices. Water Development Board officials rushed and then with the help of the locals, two thousand sand bags were dumped at the vulnerable spot and thus, the dam was repaired temporarily till dusk on Saturday. Thus, the on-rush of waters from Meghna river inside the bundh was temporarily stopped.
It may be recalled here that on 18 November last, almost at the same spot, this dam developed big cracks and crevices covering 80 metres of the bundh and hundreds and thousands of pieces ofcement blocks and sand bags went/sank down the Meghna river . Then the WDB officials temporarily repaired the vulnerable spots by dumping Geo textile sand bags.
Later, local MP Adv Nurul Amin Ruhul along with top Water Dev Board officials visited the spot and then assured the locals that a strong dam would be erected along the bank so that no such incidents occur again. But the same thing happened again in less than one and a half month.
So, local people are too much worried, said Omar Faruque, Billal Hossain Bokul, Swapon Patwary and AL leader Humayun Mollah and others adding with great regret that their Farazikandi UP Chairman Delowar Hossain Danesh is outside the station in this critical time of the worried locals.
Later on Saturday UNO Snehashis Das and Upazila Chairman MA Kuddus along with local political leaders and bigwigs visited the spot and assured the people of solving the problem.
Contacted, the Meghna-Dhonagoda Irrigation Project’s Water Consumers’ Federation’s General Secretary Sarker Mohammad Alauddin has, however, blamed the Water Dev Board officials for this collapse of the dam. He has said ”Due to their negligence, this breach at the dam has developed.
They are actually callous about it. ”’ He emphatically added, ” In the past two times, this dam developed breaches and that caused inundation of huge standing crops, homes and hearths and the farmers and general people incurred huge loss in terms of money”.
According to him and Water Development Board, the dam was built in 1988 covering parts of Matlab Dakhshin and entire Matlab Uttar Upazilas. About 10 lakh people of 19 unions of these two Upazilasare residing inside this 63-km- long ring dam. The dam has main dam, secondary dam and then tertiary dam.
Many local people preferring to remain anonymous, have alleged that ”Due to mindless extraction of sands with the help of dredgers from river beds this might have happened”.
However, the affected people have called upon the Goverment to take permanent measures in this regard as early as possible and remove their constant anxieties and worries.
Again a big portion (over 50 metres) of the main dam of the 63-Km long embankment known officially as ‘Meghna-Dhonagoa Irrigation Project cum Flood Control Embankment’ covering Matlab Uttar and Matlab Dakhshin Upazilas of the district suddenly developed cracks and the concrete cement blocks and sand bags at the vulnerable spots went/sank down the Meghna river on Saturday last making the local people too much worried.
Water Dev Board officials including Executive Engineer Md Mamun Howlader said ‘Due to the pressure of water of the Meghna River, over 50 metres of the dam has been affected”. But they have assured the locals that ” ”You have no cause for worries and anxieties for this breach. It is going to be repaired soon”.
According to the locals, some people and pedestrians at first saw the concrete cement blocks on Saturday morning at 10 am, gradually sinking down one after another at Janata Bazar under Farazi kandi union of the Upazila and they at once shouted. Then all other people rushed and became worried. At once, they dam the Water Development officials about the sinking down of blocks of the bundh and waters were going inside the dam through the breaches and crevices. Water Development Board officials rushed and then with the help of the locals, two thousand sand bags were dumped at the vulnerable spot and thus, the dam was repaired temporarily till dusk on Saturday. Thus, the on-rush of waters from Meghna river inside the bundh was temporarily stopped.
It may be recalled here that on 18 November last, almost at the same spot, this dam developed big cracks and crevices covering 80 metres of the bundh and hundreds and thousands of pieces ofcement blocks and sand bags went/sank down the Meghna river . Then the WDB officials temporarily repaired the vulnerable spots by dumping Geo textile sand bags.
Later, local MP Adv Nurul Amin Ruhul along with top Water Dev Board officials visited the spot and then assured the locals that a strong dam would be erected along the bank so that no such incidents occur again. But the same thing happened again in less than one and a half month.
So, local people are too much worried, said Omar Faruque, Billal Hossain Bokul, Swapon Patwary and AL leader Humayun Mollah and others adding with great regret that their Farazikandi UP Chairman Delowar Hossain Danesh is outside the station in this critical time of the worried locals.
Later on Saturday UNO Snehashis Das and Upazila Chairman MA Kuddus along with local political leaders and bigwigs visited the spot and assured the people of solving the problem.
Contacted, the Meghna-Dhonagoda Irrigation Project’s Water Consumers’ Federation’s General Secretary Sarker Mohammad Alauddin has, however, blamed the Water Dev Board officials for this collapse of the dam. He has said ”Due to their negligence, this breach at the dam has developed.
They are actually callous about it. ”’ He emphatically added, ” In the past two times, this dam developed breaches and that caused inundation of huge standing crops, homes and hearths and the farmers and general people incurred huge loss in terms of money”.
According to him and Water Development Board, the dam was built in 1988 covering parts of Matlab Dakhshin and entire Matlab Uttar Upazilas. About 10 lakh people of 19 unions of these two Upazilasare residing inside this 63-km- long ring dam. The dam has main dam, secondary dam and then tertiary dam.
Many local people preferring to remain anonymous, have alleged that ”Due to mindless extraction of sands with the help of dredgers from river beds this might have happened”.
However, the affected people have called upon the Goverment to take permanent measures in this regard as early as possible and remove their constant anxieties and worries.
