Erosion hits Sirajganj town protection levee

Bangladesh Water Development Board (BWDB) has started urgent repair work on Sirajganj town protection embankment after the Jamuna river eroded at least an 80-metre section of the levee within two to three hours on Tuesday.

Locals said the current in the river turned turbulent around noon on Tuesday in Sirajganj jail gate area near Hard Point of the town protection embankment and the erosion began soon afterwards.

Their attempt to protect the levee from the erosion went in vein, they also said.

BWDB Executive Engineer Shafikul Islam confirmed that a stretch of about 80 metres of the embankment along the river was damaged in about two to three hours on Tuesday.

The BWDB acted promptly at the news of the erosion and their officials started repairing the damaged section without any delay, he said, adding that water level in the river had been rising rapidly and the erosion might have been triggered by subsidence of soil beneath the embankment due to the immense water pressure.

The 2.5 kilometre-long embankment was constructed in 2000-01 fiscal year by Hyundai of Korea at a cost of Tk 364 crore to protect Sirajganj district headquarters from the erosion of the Jamuna, according to the BWDB.

Different parts of the levee faced significant erosions in 2009, 2010, 2011 and 2013.

While the townspeople speculated disastrous consequences in case the levee breaks, BWDB officials assured that the erosion of the levee will be brought under control once their work is complete.