The government is considering taking on a large project to ensure a permanent solution for preventing flash floods in the haor areas of Bangladesh.
During the monsoon, flash floods are very common in the haor regions of the country. Like every year, a devastating flood has submerged a vast area of the Sunamganj district, damaging crops on 5,000 hectares of land, according to the Water Resources Ministry.
However, locals claimed the floods had already damaged crops on more than 20,000 hectares of land.
State Minister for Water Resources Zahid Faruk, Deputy Minister AKM Enamul Hoque Shamim, and Senior Secretary Kabir Bin Anwar of the Water Resources Ministry briefed the media about the prevailing situation at the Secretariat on Monday.
The government has ordered an investigation into the recent flash floods caused by breaches in protection embankments in Sunamganj.
Zahid said stern action would be taken following the investigation.
A six-member committee, headed by an additional secretary, has already been formed to investigate the allegations of negligence. The report is due in 10 days.
According to the officials, a record amount of rainfall was recorded from April 1 to April 6 in Cherapunji of India.
Due to the sudden rain, the upstream water level rose in the nearby rivers and collapsed several dams in the haor area of Bangladesh, resulting in Tanguar haor getting inundated on April 2.
Locals said five haors, including Chandra Sonartal haor, in Dharmapasha, Tangni haor in Dirai upazila and Chapati haor, went underwater after the collapse of the dams.
Also Read - Flash floods damage crops worth 100C in Sunamganj haors
Deputy Minister Shamim said he visited the inundated haor area recently and found that breaches had occurred in three places of the 535-km embankment.
“We managed to repair one spot, but in another spot, the depth of water is 50-60 meters while the repair work of another spot is going on,” he said.
In 2017, the government suspended eight engineers, who were found negligent in their duties.
State Minister Zahid said: “The Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) will take action in line with rules against the eight suspended engineers."
Talking about the irregularities brought against the Water Development Board, he said: “We will try our best to bring the situation to a tolerable level.”
Also Read - Shameem: PM Hasina for permanent steps to protect haors
After the press briefing, Deputy Minister Shamim told Dhaka Tribune: “Right now, we are trying to repair the collapsed dam area. After that, we will take suggestions from experts to find a permanent solution regarding flash floods in the haor area.
"Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina wants a sustainable and permanent solution to protect crops in the vast haor areas of the country.”
Haor is a wetland ecosystem in the northeastern part of Bangladesh that physically is a bowl or saucer-shaped shallow depression, also known as a back swamp.
During monsoon, haors get filled with surface runoff water, becoming vast stretches of turbulent water.
