An embankment constructed to prevent river bank erosion by the residents of Khulna’s Koyra Upazila has collapsed again due to increased water pressure.
Locals fear that vast areas of the upazila will be inundated by the high tides of the Kopotakkho river if the embankment in Charamukha is not repaired soon.
According to Masud Rana, a local Union Parishad member, 200 metres of the embankment along the Charamukha canal in Vedkashi union have already collapsed, leaving some 15,000 people in 10 villages stranded.
Besides, different species of fish, including shrimp, were swept away, he said.
M Mashiul Abedin, sub-assistant engineer of Satkhira Water Development Board, said that some 2,000 people, including his men and local residents, are working to repair the broken embankment.
“Even before we were able to complete reconstructing the embankment, it collapsed again,” he added.
The Water Development Board has provided some sacks and bamboo for this work, he said, adding that work at the main point will start soon.
On July 16, the people of Koyra began work on reconstructing their broken embankment.
Within two days, around 3,000 people of South Bedkashi union were able to rebuild the broken 300-metre embankment on their own. However, even after a month, the board did not take any initiative on the issue.
According to an official document, in the last 10 years, more than Tk1,42,58,08,000 has been spent on the construction of roads in Koyra. But the general people of this upazila did not experience any improvement.
A member of the Koyra Development Committee, Imtiaz Uddin, said: “The same embankment has collapsed twice, which is a matter of great despair.”
He blamed the authorities concerned for not spending the money shown in constructing the embankment.