Farmers worried: Negligence in Haor protection dam project
Sr.Staff Reporter, Kishoreganj :
Even though the term has expired, the work of repairing 139 crop protection embankments measuring 144 kilometers in length in the haor areas of Kishoreganj is still incomplete.
Soil has not been poured in many places. Farmers are worried about when these soils will be hardened (compaction), when grass will be planted to protect them from rain erosion. They have expressed anger, alleging negligence in the work.
Executive Engineer of Water Development Board (WDD) of Kishoreganj , Sajjad Hossain said that 80 percent of the dam renovation work has been completed. However, all the work will be completed by March 10.
However, the work period ended on Saturday. According to the information given by him, the estimated cost of all the dam renovation work this time was tk. 23 crore 21 lakh. So far, only tk. 3 crore 5 lakh has been allocated, which is 13.14 percent of the total allocation!
Recently , a visit to the haor showed incomplete and slow work on the dam. Work on the nearly 4.15-kilometer-long dam is underway from the head of the Baribari paved road in Kuniyar Haor in Baribari Union of Itna Upazila to Balda Kheyaghat. But soil has not been poured in many places yet.
Farmers said that the places where soil has been poured were also poured recently.
According to them, the work of pouring soil in the entire project, leveling it, and planting grass cannot be completed in two weeks. Razzak Miah , a farmer from the Bastipara area said that there is a canal on this dam.
There is a canal-like hole next to the sluice gate on the canal. Soil has not been poured there either. He thinks that if the entire dam had been built with CC blocks at a one-time cost, crores of taka would not have had to be spent every year. His family has cultivated seven acres of land this time.
Azizul Haque of nearby Namapara has now planted boro on five acres of land. According to him, soil has not been removed in many places of the entire dam.
When will the soil removal be completed, when will the soil become hard, when will grass be planted there? In the meantime, if it rains, the soil from the dam will be cut and moved to the adjacent land. It will be difficult to protect the crops in the early flood. He is also worried about the land.
Farmer leader dr. Enamul Haque Idris said that he saw negligence in the dam repair work after visiting the haor. He is the convener of the Haor Protection Movement Coordination Committee consisting of Kishoreganj, Sylhet, Sunamganj, Habiganj, Moulvibazar, Netrokona and Brahmanbaria districts. Dr. Enamul Haque Idris said that paddy is grown in this haor only during the boro season. If the farmers of the haor have to lose their crops in the early flood due to the fault of the dam, then they will have to sit on their own. He demanded an investigation into the reason for the slow pace of the dam repair work.
In this regard, Water Development Board ‘s Executive Engineer Sajjad Hossain said that he has inspected the dam repair work in the haor. Wherever he saw slowness, negligence or irregularities, he has strictly warned them to do the work properly.
He also said that there are instructions to plant grass or turf after pouring soil on each dam. Then, even if it rains, the soil of the dam will remain relatively intact. He hopes to complete all the work by March 10.
