Stalled Manu embankment leaves 200,000 people

More than 200,000 people living along the Manu River in Moulvibazar’s Kulaura upazila remain exposed to flooding and river erosion as work on a crucial protection embankment has been stalled for years, largely due to objections from India’s Border Security Force.

The unfinished sections have caused growing concern among residents of Prithimpasha, Tilagaon, Hajipur and Sharifpur unions, particularly as the monsoon raises the water level of the transboundary river.

The flood-protection project was initiated in the 2020–21 fiscal year. However, only around 70 percent of the work in Kulaura has been completed because of BSF objections, land acquisition complications and contractor-related delays.

Construction remains suspended at four border-adjacent locations—Dattagram, Nishchintapur, Telibil and Bagjur—in Sharifpur Union. Repair work at a damaged embankment in Shikaria of Prithimpasha Union has also been unable to proceed.

The Manu River originates in the Indian state of Tripura and flows into Bangladesh through the border area, making construction and river-management activities near the international boundary subject to bilateral coordination.

The delays have left parts of Kulaura, Rajnagar and Moulvibazar Sadar upazilas vulnerable to recurring floods.

In Shikaria, a section of the embankment damaged during the 2024 floods remains unrepaired. On the night of July 8, upstream runoff entered the locality through the vulnerable section, inundating Shikaria, Alinagar and several surrounding villages.

More than 100 families suffered severe hardship as homes, roads and agricultural land were flooded.
A visit to the area found a breach of around 100 feet in the embankment. Local residents have constructed a makeshift bamboo bridge over the damaged section for daily movement.

Residents said they were frustrated that similar protection work had reportedly been completed on the Indian side about a year ago in the presence of the BSF, while construction on the Bangladesh side remained suspended.

Lieutenant Colonel Sarkar Asif Mahmud, commander of the Sreemangal Battalion of Border Guard Bangladesh, said the BGB would provide the necessary assistance to the Water Development Board’s contractor for earth-filling work at damaged sections of the embankment in Shikaria and Dattagram.

Kulaura Upazila Nirbahi Officer Sanjida Akter said she had inspected the breached embankment in Shikaria and informed the deputy commissioner and the Water Development Board about the situation.
She said permanent protection work at Shikaria and four locations in Sharifpur Union would require coordinated efforts involving the relevant ministries of Bangladesh and India, including Bangladesh’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Md Khaled Bin Walid, executive engineer of the Moulvibazar Water Development Board, said the Tk 307 crore Kulaura component of the project was undertaken to protect the upazila from flooding and river erosion.

He said work along approximately 1,400 metres at four locations in Sharifpur Union had remained suspended due to BSF objections.

“The matter has been raised through the India-Bangladesh Joint Rivers Commission, and several communications have been sent to New Delhi,” he said.

Discussions are underway between senior authorities of the two countries, and construction will resume once the required clearance is received, he added.

The WDB had also planned to repair the damaged embankment at Shikaria last year, but the initiative could not proceed because of objections from the BSF. Several letters have since been sent to higher authorities seeking permission to begin the work.

According to the Moulvibazar WDB, the Executive Committee of the National Economic Council approved a Tk 996.28 crore project on June 21, 2020, to protect Moulvibazar Sadar, Rajnagar and Kulaura upazilas from flooding and erosion caused by the Manu River.

The Kulaura component consists of 28 work packages with a total contract value of Tk 307 crore. Of these, 20 packages involve permanent riverbank protection, four cover char removal and four involve reconstruction of flood-control embankments.

Permanent protection work was planned along a total stretch of 2,200 metres at Dattagram, Nishchintapur, Telibil and Bagjur in Sharifpur Union.

The contract, worth around Tk 45 crore, was awarded to Dhaka-based M/S Hasan & Brothers in 2021. Although the contractor completed the fabrication of concrete blocks and geobags, fieldwork stopped following BSF objections on January 13, 2023.

Local residents have organised human chains and submitted memorandums demanding immediate completion of the embankment.

The issue was also raised in Parliament on July 13, when Moulvibazar-2 lawmaker Alhaj Shawkatul Islam Shaku urged the government to find a permanent solution.

Union Parishad member Tahir Ali, organiser Faizul Haque and businessmen Mokhlish Miah and Atik Miah said severe floods in 2018, 2022 and 2024 caused extensive damage across Prithimpasha, Tilagaon, Hajipur and Sharifpur unions.

They said embankment work in Rajapur, Belratol and Chhaidol had also faced repeated delays because of contractor-related problems and land acquisition complications.

Repairs at Shikaria, Nishchintapur, Telibil, Dattagram and Bagjur remain incomplete, leaving residents worried about another destructive flood.

During the monsoon, the swollen Manu River frequently overflows into surrounding settlements, making the river, embankment and villages appear as one vast body of water.

Residents warned that unless the bilateral administrative disputes are resolved and protection work resumes immediately, hundreds of thousands of people along the Manu River will continue to face the threat of flooding, erosion and displacement.