The embankment of the Kapotaksha River in Koyra, Khulna has collapsed. Early on Friday, 300 meters of the Water Development Board (PAUBO) dam collapsed into the river at five places in Polder No. 13-14/2 in Harinkhola village of Koyra upazila.
About 15,000 people in the Koyra Upazila headquarters, including the villages of Harinkhola, Koyra No. 2, Gobra, Ghatakhali, and Madinabad, adjacent to the dam, are threatened by this erosion.
It was learned from the people of Harinkhola village that the low pressure in the Bay of Bengal caused the river to rise at least 4 feet higher than normal at night on Thursday. When the water started to recede this morning due to the low tide, a sudden crack and collapse occurred in the embankment along the banks of the Kapotaksha River. In front of the eyes of the locals, a 300-meter section of the embankment, filled with geo-bags and large pieces of soil, was instantly washed away by the river. Locals fear that if the PAU does not take immediate action to prevent erosion, cropland and numerous fish pens will be submerged in the river.
This morning, when I went to the embankment area of the Kapotaksha River, I saw that the soil had shifted in all the places where the embankment had collapsed, and the sand inside had come out. The water waves were washing away that sand. The course of the river water changed and was crashing against the embankment. Local residents are trying to repair the collapsed areas. Some are cutting soil from the side and dumping it in the collapsed area, while others are lifting geo bags from the embankment slope and placing them in the collapsed embankment area.
Local resident Mostafiz Sheikh said, cutting soil and putting it in the collapsed area of the dam, “If we, the residents, do not come forward to protect the dam, it will be too late. Then the area will no longer be habitable. Those who are responsible for repairing the dam do not move forward with any time. All the deaths are of people like me who are hungry.”
Hafizul Molla, a resident of Harinkhola village, expressed his anger and said, “This dam was built only three and a half years ago. But already, the dam has started to break. During construction, soil was placed on the top and both sides of the dam, but sand was placed inside. Due to this, the dam has become weak and is now collapsing even when the tide rises a little. To prevent the dam from breaking, it is necessary to provide paved blocks on the river bank.”
Billal Hossain, a school teacher in Gobra village on the banks of the Kopotaksha River, said, “The dam next to Harinkhola village was called the strongest dam in Koyra. This dam was built in 2021 at a cost of about 100 million taka. However, the bigger the project, the better the work. In most places, soil is filled in on both sides and above the dam and sand is added inside. Due to this, the dam is weakening and collapsing. The extent of erosion has increased since this morning. There is no telling what will happen if this continues.”
Khulna PAUBO Executive Engineer Ashraful Alam said, abnormal tides had increased since yesterday due to the effect of low pressure. The embankment in Harinkhola area of Koyra collapsed and the embankment of the Koyra River overflowed in the Chaukuni area, entering the locality. Upon receiving the news, deputy assistant engineers immediately inspected the erosion-affected area. For now, arrangements have been made to place geo bags on the embankment so that the extent of erosion does not increase. The embankment repair work will start through the contractor as soon as possible for a permanent solution.
Source: Prothom Alo
