A narrow box culvert is being built on the Ashuganj canal, a major passageway for the residents of Sonarampur in Brahmanbaria, allegedly disrupting the water flow and ultimately killing the canal.
Locals claimed that businessman Shafiul Alam Emon is constructing the culvert to benefit his sand business on the other side of the canal. He is doing so by ‘managing’ the administration, they said.
According to the office of Upazila Nirbahi Officer (UNO), the canal, running along the Sonarampur bridge, is connected to the Meghna River. It flows through Talshohor and Barail villages before merging with the Titas River.
The proposed culvert on this 35 feet wide canal will be of only eight feet wide reducing the waterway to a mere drain. This will seriously hamper the water flow of the canal.
Chairman of Talshahar Union Parishad Abu Shama said: “Villagers use the canal to transport many goods and construction materials from the Meghna River. If the box culvert is built on this, the canal will lose its navigability and villagers will no longer be able to use it.”
He further alleged that the UNO was involved in this.
Meanwhile, Sandeep Kumar Singh, the UNO of Ashuganj, said Shafiul Alam was constructing the culvert with his own money and with proper approval from the concerned authority.
When asked if anyone could build such culverts just by applying, Sandeep Kumar nodded positively adding that the local engineering department would have to approve the design.
He, however, said he had no idea about design of the culvert and advised to contact the upazila LGED engineer.
A recent visit to the area by this correspondent had found full on construction work of the box culvert at the Sonarampur part of the canal. The base of the culvert was being built on the bed of the canal, which has dried up due to the season.
By talking to some of the residents in the area, it was learnt that Shafiul Alam Emon had leased almost a hectare of land on the other side of the canal to build his sand depository. And the box culvert was needed to allow transports back and forth.
Sajib Ahmed, a local, said: “Even though we are observing the destruction of the canal, we are helpless. Emon has the support of the administration.”
Sub-contractor of the culvert, Hanif Mia, said the culvert would be 62 feet long and eight feet wide, which had been approved by the administration.
The upazila LGED engineer Shariful Islam defended himself by saying that he was recently transferred there and had no knowledge about the project. He suggested to talk to the assistant engineer.
Assistant Engineer Mosharraf Hossain said: “It is unlawful if the width of the culvert is kept only eight feet. However, we cannot do anything about it since the responsibility lies with the UNO.”
“The UNO permitted me to build a culvert on a temporary basis as per my application,” said Shafiul Alam Emon when contacted.
Asked if a concrete establishment could be built temporarily, he responded that the canal was already dead. “It is used only for draining out the excess water of the highland and the culvert will not hamper this flow,” he claimed.