Dakope, Khulna, embankment breach puts 5,000 bighas of Aman crop at risk

Embankment breaches in Dakope Khulna. UNB

Khulna, Oct 17 — Residents of Botbunia in Khulna’s Dakope upazila are living in fear as work on a permanent alternative embankment has yet to begin five days after a 50-metre section of the existing flood protection embankment collapsed into the Dhaki River.

Around 5,000 bighas of Aman paddy land are at risk due to the breach, said locals.

Around 50 metres of the Water Development Board (WDB) embankment near the Harisabha temple at Botbunia Bazar collapsed into the river on the night of October 11.

The WDB immediately placed sandbags and tubes at the site to prevent extensive flooding. 

However, a visit to the area found that the condition of the damaged embankment remained unchanged, with no work on a permanent alternative embankment having started in the past five days.

Mohammad Abdul Rahman, sub-divisional engineer, and Mohammad Nayan Ali, assistant sub-assistant engineer of the WDB’s Khulna office, said the alternative embankment would be constructed after monitoring the direction and condition of the erosion.

They said the assessment is taking some time but claimed that construction work would begin within this week.

The devastating erosion has already swept away the homes and belongings of seven families living in the affected area.

Krishnapada Sardar, one of the victims, said he has moved his home to another location after an earlier erosion incident, only to lose everything in the latest collapse.

“My house and belongings, including gold ornaments, have been washed away into the river. Now I am living with my family under the open sky in extreme hardship,” he said emotionally.

The families of Prashanta Sardar, Jadubar Sardar, Niranjan Mistry, Ajit Sardar, Alokesh Sardar and Ranjit Sardar have also suffered similar losses due to the erosion. - UNB