The New Nation - Internet Edition

BSS, Rajshahi

Embankment protection work has been started in Chapainawabganj district to protect the vulnerable areas from river erosion.

According to the officials concerned, Bangladesh Water Development Board (BWDB) has been implementing the project at some parts of Chapainawabganj sadar upazila and Shibganj upazila of the district at an estimated cost of Taka 143 crore.

Under the project, embankment protection works would be executed on 8.5 kilometers area of the left side of the river Padma that would help protect around five lakh people from erosion.

Executive Engineer of Chapainawabganj BWDB Khalilur Rahman said geo- bags would be used in the water while the river embankments would be constructed through using CC blocks on geo- textiles under seven groups of the project. Works of the three groups were started and the rest four would be started as soon as possible.

He said the erosion had been started in the area in last 90s that turned into havoc and the river intruded into 15-kilometer inside left around 1.5 lakh people of Narayanpur and Sundarpur UPs under Chapainawabganj sadar upazila and Pankha and Uzirpur unions under Shibganj upazila homeless.

In 1995, government had allocated Taka one crore to protect the area from the erosion but the effort had gone in vain. The then Awami League government had also undertaken a project involving Taka 74.84 crore but it had been declared abandoned with the rise of floodwater.

In last 2002, the subsequent BNP government had enhanced the project cost to Taka 117 crore. But due to preparation of a wrong design, the strong current of the river devoured four out of total eight newly constructed spars just after one year of inauguration that led to massive river erosion.

Within the last couple of years, the river came about 12 to 14 kilometers inside the catchment area damaging resources of about Taka 3,000 crore including 15 educational institutions, many mango orchards and vast tracts of croplands.