A menace for people of 30 haor villages

Boats are the only means of transportation for people of several villages in Kauadighi Haor, one of the largest haors of Moulvibazar, during monsoon. But, due to the construction of an unplanned box culvert, people of at least 30 villages in the haor, under Sadar and Rajnagar upazilas, are facing untold suffering and damage to their crops.

As the box culvert is quite low, it takes a significant amount of time for water to recede from the adjacent croplands. As a result, standing paddies on vast tracts of land rot away every year.

According to Moulvibazar Roads and Highways Department (RHD), authorities constructed the culvert on Moulvibazar-Balaganj road at Bhurbhurichara, spending about Tk 1 crore.

For a long time, locals have been demanding to demolish the structure and construct a new bridge there. They have also held various agitation programmes to press home their demand.

Recently, hundreds of residents of several villages under Rajnagar upazila, located on the eastern side of Kauadighi Haor, formed a human chain on Balaganj road, with the same demand.

As the box culvert is quite low, it takes a significant amount of time for water to recede from the adjacent croplands. As a result, standing paddies on vast tracts of land rot away every year. For a long time, locals have been demanding to demolish the structure and construct a new bridge there. They have also held various agitation programmes to press home their demand.

Farmer Zahir Uddin of Medenimahal village said as the height of the culvert is low, it obstructs the free flow of water during monsoon.

Moreover, if it rains a bit heavily, their paddy fields often go under stagnant water, he said, adding that Aman paddies on vast tracts of land were damaged last year.

Asid Mia, another farmer from Betahunja village, said due to the height, no one could take the paddies home last year, because boats cannot even ply properly under the culvert.

Rajan Ahmad, general secretary of Haor Rakkha Sangram Committee's Moulvibazar Sadar unit, said the culvert had been constructed without taking into consideration the life and livelihood of haor people.

Because of the low height, locals, including farmers and fishers, of at least 20 villages are left to suffer immensely every day. Due to lack of opportunities for plying boats, collection of fodder for cows and buffaloes from the haor are being badly disrupted, he said.

Now, there is no alternative but to demolish the culvert and build a new bridge to relieve the people, he added.

Moulvibazar Roads and Highways Department (RHD) Executive Engineer Mohammad Zia Uddin said the initiative to construct the culvert was taken to reduce road accidents.

However, considering the benefits of locals, the problem will be resolved soon, he said.