Thousands of people in the area voluntarily repaired the broken embankment of Kapotaksha river in Koira upazila of Khulna. On Monday morning, they repaired the dam in the canal head area of Charamukha village of South Bedkashi Union. After returning home in the afternoon, he found out that the other side of the dam had broken in the tide. In this, at least 10 villages of the four wards of the union have entered the salt water of the sea. At least 15 thousand people are trapped in water.
Before this, in the morning of July 17, about 150 meters of the dam collapsed and disappeared into the river. After two days, with the efforts of thousands of people, it was possible to stop the water with a ring dam at the broken place. About 50 feet of the ring dam broke at high tide on Saturday afternoon. It was immediately repaired with the efforts of hundreds of local people. However, hundreds of fish cages were drowned in the river water. Last Sunday, 100 meters of that dam broke again. Thousands of people gathered from this morning to repair the broken dam. But the other side of the dam broke in the afternoon tide.
Osman Gani, a member of Ward number 7 of South Bedkashi Union Parishad (UP), said that water has entered more than 10 villages including Dakshin Bedkashi, Charamukha, Khadakbuniya, Veenapani, Padmapukur after the dam broke. About 15,000 people have become waterlogged. Tomorrow Tuesday morning again planning to repair the dam with everyone.
Going to that area, it can be seen that South Bedkashi Union has become a town drowning in the salt water of the sea. The riverside shrimp enclosures no longer exist. Water has entered the settlements.
The local people are blaming the negligence of the Water Development Board (PUBO) for the repeated dam breaks at the same place. They alleged that although the ring dam was built a month ago, the town authorities did not take any measures to maintain or strengthen it. This has broken the weak dam once again.
When asked, Koira Upazila Nirbahi Officer (UNO) Animesh Biswas said that the water in the river is rising a lot compared to the normal tide. In this, the dam which was being repaired in Dakshin Vedkashi broke again. Upazila administration is cooperating in various ways.
Sajib Hossain, a young man of the area, worked as a volunteer to repair the broken dam in the morning. He said that ordinary people continued to build dams voluntarily in the area without Paubo being on their side. But due to strong tide in the river, the dam did not last today. Vast areas were flooded.
Taiyeb Ali of Padmapukur village in the union said, ‘I don’t know how many times this dam will break and how many times we will fix it. After each breach, many bigwigs come to visit, leaving with the promise of a quick fix. Later, they are no longer found.
Gopal Mistry of Veenapani village cultivated aman on six bigha of land this season. Hemante had a dream of filling the yard with ripe rice. That dream has sunk with the crop. He said, the crops are all over. During low tide the water is decreasing and the tidal water is increasing. The government has not yet taken measures to protect the dam. Therefore, the dam could not be sustained despite the initiative of the villagers to protect the dam in the urge to survive