Embankment breach puts Sirajganj town at risk

At around 10am, about 600 feet along the ‘hard point’ zone of the embankment in Shashan Goila Ghat area was found thinning away at an alarming rate.

Assisted by the local administration, the Water Development Board employees and the community members dumped sand filled bags and concrete blocks to reinforce the embankment and stop further wearing of the bund width.

In 2007, another length of the town protection embankment had caved in, inundating Sirajganj town totally.

Residents of Shashan Goila Ghat area have started dismantling and moving their movables including homes to safer zones.

The locals accused the WDB of not undertaking repair of the vulnerable stretches in time. Angry mob vandalised two WDB vehicles too.

Aminul Islam, WDB executive engineer for the district, faced the wrath of the people when he visited the area in the morning.

Afzal Hossain, WDB Bogra Zone superintending engineer, later arrived at the spot, pacified the crowd and undertook repair work.

Sirajganj Sadar Upazila chairman Golam Kibria supervised the embankment repair activities with the participation from local people.

The district administration, police and RAB officials are also present at the spot.

Islam later told reporters that after huge shoals emerged in the Jamuna midstream this summer, the current flows got sharpened and flowing southward. They were tending to cut across the shores at the formerly ‘hard point’ zone.

“We are trying our best to protect the embankment. To tell you the truth, it is really difficult to forecast correctly about the Jamuna dynamics.”

The officials said erosion along Sirajganj point exacerbated in the last 24 hours though the Jamuna waters receded a good 11 inches.

The locals say that this devastation took place because sand layers below the ‘hard point’ zone had been moved by the strong undercurrent of the Jamuna, thereby rendering the area vulnerable and weaker this season.

Hossain said, “The embankment was so well erected and compacted that we never thought erosion would affect especially this point.”

“We managed the erosion that had taken place last year in the area north of the ‘hard point’by dumping piles of concrete blocks, cubes and hard rocks. This year’s debacle has caught us unawares.”