Sudden erosion by the Teesta river has swept away 40 metres of the Burirhat cross-dam in Rajarhat upazila, Kurigram. The Water Development Board (WDB) is dumping geo-bags to stop the erosion.
Local people fear that unless effective action is taken quickly and the dam breaks, about 20,000 people in six villages, Bordarga, Burirhat, Ramhari, Chatura, Kalirmela and Dangrarhat, could be directly at risk, along with homesteads, houses, farmland and at least five markets.
According to the WDB, the Teesta at Kaunia station stood at 28.73 metres at 6am on Tuesday and 28.75 metres at 9am, against a danger level of 29.31 metres.
Residents and witnesses said erosion suddenly began on part of the Burirhat cross-dam road from 7am on Tuesday and then spread to its north and south sides. Local people say strong currents washing away soil and sand from beneath the dam have made the situation more dangerous.
“Yesterday we saw the current was very strong. As last year, we saw signs of erosion and told many people about our fears, but no effective action was taken then,” local resident Md Salam Mia alleged.
“There was sand here in the dry season, and one spot had sunk a little, but no work was done then. Now the water has risen and there’s no sand. How will they handle the erosion?” said another Burirhat resident, Maidul Islam, 35.
WDB executive engineer Md Rakibul Hasan said officials visited the site after hearing of the sudden erosion, and geo-bags have been dumped as a necessary measure. “We hope to stop the erosion quickly,” he said.
বাংলায় মূল প্রতিবেদন পড়ুন · Read the original Bengali report