Farmers in Sunamganj are under stress as half of the crops around Chayar Haor area have been inundated as a dyke collapsed due to the onrush of the Darain River on Sunday.
Around 4,636 hectares of land in Shalla Upazila and Boro paddy lands of Khaliajuri Upazila of Kishoreganj and Netrokona districts have been inundated as the “Mauti” crop protection embankment collapsed.
Witnesses said at first a crack appeared on the dyke, constructed by the Project Implementation Committee (PIC) of Bangladesh Water Development Board (BWDB), on Saturday evening, and it collapsed early morning on Sunday.
Seeing the situation, thousands of farmers had to cut their remaining paddies early.
The dyke was constructed at a cost of Tk2,200,000 during the current Boro paddy season. However, farmers have been complaining about the quality of the construction from the very beginning
Locals reported that around half of the land is still unharvested. Meanwhile, the district authorities claim that 90% of the crops have already been harvested around Chhayar Haor.
Shalla UNO Abu Taleb said: “The water level of Darain river has increased significantly. The Mauti embankment project was not as risky as other projects, but it still broke Sunday morning due to the water pressure.”
Jagdish Chandra Sarker, a resident of the area, said: “Although the Chayar Haor is spread across three districts, most cropland is in Shalla Upazila. Half of our paddy has been inundated.”
Another resident, Ashontosh Prokash, said they have been looking for the authorities to report the embankment's construction failures for a long time, but could never get in touch with them. “If they had taken a step on time, it would not have collapsed.”
Shalla Upazila “Haor Bachao Andolan” President Tarun Kanti Das told Daily Samakal that the embankment collapsed in an abnormal manner.
“On Saturday evening, some people contacted PIC President Kripendra Das and General Secretary Pradeep Das about the embankment’s condition. However, they did not take any action.”
