All -weather road in haor engulfed into river
An ‘All Weather Road’ was built in Kishoreganj ‘s Ashtagram, haor to ensure all-weather travel. But nine years after construction, nearly 90 percent of the one-and-a-half kilometer stretch of that road has gone under the river. This has effectively cut off road communication for thousands of people in Bangalpara Union.
Locals complain that some parts of the one and a half kilometer road look like needles from a distance.
For two weeks, communication between Bangalpara Union and the upazila and district headquarters has been cut off. Even though a large part of the road has disappeared under the river before our eyes, no government department is willing to take responsibility for it.
local Government Engineering Department (LGED), Kishoreganj district office sources said that a 10.5-kilometer-long and 16-foot-wide all-weather road was constructed in 2017. The cost was Tk 44 crore.
Renovation work worth Tk 13 crore is underway on the road. Meanwhile, the road has been subjected to erosion.
The part of the road that was washed away is in Ward No. 9 of Bangalpara UP. Aminul Islam, the UP member of that ward, said that about 400 acres of land along the road has gone into the river.
10 families have been displaced. Earlier, many young people in the area used to drive auto-rickshaws on the All Weather Road to earn a living. Now, that opportunity is gone.
The road itself went into the river. Let me be clear, the local government built the road, but the Ministry of Water Resources is responsible for protecting the river from erosion.
Advocate Fazlur Rahman MP of Kishoreganj-4 constituency said that the road itself went into the river let me clear, the Local Government Ministry built the road, the Ministry of Water Resources is responsible for protecting the river from erosion.
A one-kilometer-long connecting bridge is being built at a cost of Tk 177 crore on the All Weather Road. One part of the bridge touches Ashtagram, while the other end touches Nasirnagar Upazila of Brahmanbaria.
Once the bridge is operational, road connectivity between Dhaka and the people of Nasirnagar and several surrounding areas is expected to be easier. Meanwhile, the road has been hit by erosion, which has led to uncertainty about this connectivity system.
On July 30, it was seen on the ground that the Noagaon section of the road had collapsed more.
Some parts had collapsed and become narrower.
The existence of the road was not visible from a distance. Thousands of people in Noagaon, Usmanpur and the surrounding areas were in the most danger due to the collapse of the road.
Executive Engineer of Water Development Board (WDB) of Kishoreganj, Sajjad Hossain said that, the construction of the all-weather road required special planning considering water pressure, river dynamics, and flow. WDB is not responsible for the condition of the road.
Some people in the area said that although the river in the area of the erosion is locally known as the Meghna or a branch of the Meghna, its official name is Dhaleshwari. During the rainy season, the river water comes into the road. During the dry season, the main river moves about a kilometer away.
No strong prevention measures have been taken to protect the road from erosion along the river.
Rahman, a resident of Noagaon village, lost his house in the landslide and has now taken shelter elsewhere. He said, “I heard that everything will be fine, but now I have lost my house and the road.”
A report highlighting the fragile condition of the road was published in Prothom Alo online on May 17 and in the print edition the next day.
No one is taking responsibility.
LGED says that their responsibility is only to build the road, and the responsibility of protecting it from the river lies with the Water Development Board (WDB). However, WDB is reluctant to take that responsibility. According to people involved in the organization, no written NOC (No Objection Certificate) or consultation was taken before building the road through a huge body of water.
The road’s institutional existence is not in the river protection plan, so they are reluctant to take responsibility for it.
Sajjad Hossain, executive engineer of WDB, Kishoreganj , told The New Nation that the main responsibility of the road lies with LGED. Special planning was required to consider the water pressure, river movement and flow in the construction of the all-weather road. WDB is not responsible for the current condition of the road.
LGED’s Ashtagram Upazila Engineer Mozammel Haque said that there are four big bridges and two pipe culverts on the road to keep the water flow normal. However, the reality of the road being built 9 years ago, now the course of the river, chars and the nature of the current have changed.
This has increased erosion. He admitted that Paubo was not informed in writing during the construction of the road. However, Paubo never raised any objection to the matter.
Amidst the tension between the two departments, BIWTA stepped in to find a solution. They tried to divert the river’s course from the side of the road by dredging, but this attempt was unsuccessful.
Bangalpara Union Parishad ( UP) Chairman Md. Moniruzzaman said, ‘If the officers of the three government offices could have sat at one table and taken timely decisions, then perhaps the road would not have been lost like this before our eyes.’
Recently , Advocate Fazlur Rahman MP visited the erosion area. There was a tone of disappointment in his voice. He told the local Journalists , “What can I say? When I ask, the people concerned say that the work is progressing, but it is not progressing any more; rather, the road has gone into the river. My point is clear, the local government built the road, but the responsibility of protecting the river from erosion lies with the Ministry of Water Resources.”
