Over 50 sluice gates need urgent repairs

More than 50 sluice gates in Kalapara upazila of Patuakhali have become non-functional, severely affecting irrigation and drainage and leaving over 30,000 farmers in a state of uncertainty.

Adding to farmers' woes, saline water from the Bay of Bengal is seeping into canals and farmlands, damaging crops and causing financial losses.

Among the worst-hit is the six-vent sluice gate in the Kathalpata area, built in the 1960s. The structure is now dilapidated, with plaster from both ends crumbled, reinforcement rods rusting, gates corroded from salt exposure, and tidal water flowing freely due to broken shutters.

Photo: Sohrab Hossain/Star

Locals say the guide walls have collapsed into the Kochupatra river, and the railings on either side are also broken. The structure shakes when walked on, raising fears of an imminent collapse.

This sluice also serves as a key transport link between Kalapara and at least three unions of neighbouring Taltali upazila in Barguna.

Similar conditions prevail in sluice gates across at least 22 other areas, including Pakhiapara, Melapara, Purba Madhukhali, Charpara, Safakhali, Nachnapara, Sultanpur, Londa, Patuya, Debpur, Dashkani, Anipara, Gazirkhal, Tiyakhali, Itbaria, Sadarpur, Purba Goyatola, Dalbuganj, Najibpur, Darzarkhal, and Nizampur.

"About half of the sluice gates in Kalapara are now useless," said a local farmer. "Saline water has entered croplands, destroying our harvests."

In Nilganj's Jugir canal, one of the most critical sluices, farmers build makeshift embankments every year to block saltwater and use the freshwater for vegetable farming. In villages like Kumirmara, Majidpur, and Elempur, around 80 percent of households are engaged in vegetable cultivation year-round.

Sultan Gazi, a farmer from Kumirmara, said, "Our village alone supplies nearly half the vegetables consumed in Kalapara. But due to the damaged sluice gate, saltwater intrusion often ruins our entire crop."

Though Water Development Board policy mandates the formation of management committees involving local UP chairmen, WDB officials, and farmers, locals allege these committees are mostly filled with political allies and influential individuals.

Ruhul Amin Sikder, a local, said recently, farmers under the banner of a local agricultural association staged a sit-in protest in front of the Kalapara Water Development Board office and submitted a memorandum to the UNO, demanding urgent repairs and reconstruction.

According to WDB Kalapara, the upazila has 127 sluice gates -- 47 flushing (FS), 58 drainage (DS), and 22 pipe inlets. Of these, 12 are completely non-functional and at least 30 are in poor condition.

Contacted, Md Shah Alam, executive engineer of the Kalapara WDB, said, "We have recently rebuilt eight sluice gates in Latachapli union under a World Bank-funded project. The eight-vent Nichkata sluice in Nilganj is also being reconstructed."

He said 45 sluice gates across the upazila need repairs on both ends, and plans are underway to rebuild the Kathalpata sluice and repair the one at Jugir Canal for farmers in Kumirmara.