River erosion along the Dhaki River in Khulna’s Dacope upazila has continued for nearly three decades, destroying homes and farmland and threatening roads and embankments despite repeated repair efforts.
The latest collapse occurred near Botbunia Bazar under polder 31 on October 11, when around 50 metres of the embankment gave way and disappeared into the river, leaving 13 families homeless and putting nearby farmland and fish enclosures at risk.
Thousands of bighas of Aman paddy fields, vegetable plots, ponds and fish enclosures across Tiladanga and Pankhali unions and Chalna municipality could be inundated unless urgent measures are taken to prevent further erosion.
The displaced families have moved their belongings to a nearby section of the embankment and are taking shelter in the open.
The affected families are those of Jadubar Sardar, Niranjan Sardar, Krishnapada Sardar, Prashanta Sardar, Ajit Sardar, Lokesh Sardar, Gopal Sardar, Gobinda Sardar, Shekhar Sardar, Paritosh Sardar, Suryakanta Sardar, Nilu Sardar and Pradip Sardar.
Dipankar Biswas, a local resident, said the embankment collapsed within minutes at around 8:30am.
After receiving reports of the breach, Bangladesh Water Development Board (BWDB) Sub-divisional Engineer Madhusudan Pal and Sub-assistant Engineers Toufiquzzaman and Nayan Ali visited the site and began placing geobags to prevent river water from entering residential areas. The emergency measures helped avert immediate flooding across a larger area.
Residents said preparations were underway to build an alternative ring embankment using geotubes once the water pressure subsided.
We have been witnessing this erosion for nearly 30 years. Every year, the embankment breaks once or twice, flooding our homes and sweeping away everything, local residents said.
They added that erosion had already swallowed their homes and nearly 300 bighas of farmland.
In Khona under Pankhali union, erosion has also put the existing embankment at risk. A section in front of the Molla family’s house has collapsed, while a large portion of a road stretching around 100 metres has been damaged.
Liton Molla, a local resident, said his family had moved further inland and built a new house after losing land to erosion. However, renewed erosion has left them uncertain about whether they can continue living there.
Union parishad member Rashedul Islam Babu said cracks appeared in the embankment in front of the Molla family’s house on October 2, and nearly half of the adjacent road had already fallen into the river.
He said the BWDB had been informed repeatedly but had yet to take any lasting measures.
Embankment cracks and erosion have also been reported at Jaber’s ferry terminal, Kaminibasia, Garkhali, Andharmanik, Gunari Kalibari launch terminal in Sutarkhali, Kalabogi Bazar, Banishanta and Telirkona Bazar.
Residents said high tides during new and full moons frequently breach embankments and inundate extensive areas, even without major storms. Last year, a breach in Botbunia washed away transplanted Aman paddy and fish from ponds.
They blamed the recurring damage on the lack of properly planned, durable embankments and alleged corruption and irregularities in repair and construction projects.
Afzal Hossain Khan, a resident of Dacope Sadar, alleged that emergency repair work often benefited BWDB officials and contractors, while local residents had to contribute unpaid labour to protect their homes and land.
He also alleged that some projects used soil taken from beside the embankments and river sand, along with substandard geobags, resulting in weak structures that quickly deteriorated.
Dacope comprises nine unions and one municipality spread across three islands, which the BWDB has divided into polders 31, 32 and 33.
BWDB Executive Engineer Rashedur Rahman said the contractor working in the affected area had been instructed to take all necessary measures to prevent flooding.
He expressed hope that an alternative embankment could be built soon.
Dacope Upazila Nirbahi Officer Borhan Uddin Mithu said the administration was coordinating with the BWDB to repair vulnerable sections of the embankment as quickly as possible.
He added that arrangements had been made to provide dry food to families affected by the October 11 collapse.
The administration would continue coordinating with the BWDB to protect residents and minimize damage in the disaster-prone area, he said.
