The people of the area have become panic stricken due to the sudden erosion of the Padma River dam in the Sara Union area of Ishwardi upazila in Pabna. According to the farmers and locals, the erosion that started on November 21 has destroyed about one and a half hundred bighas of crops and destroyed two and a half hundred meters of char area in the riverbed.
It is learned that the Sangra Padma River Dam was constructed in 2016 at a cost of Tk 200 crore. Residents on the banks of the Padma River in Sangra Union are in a state of panic as the four-year-old river protection dam has begun to erode. They demanded immediate re-construction of this dam. According to the locals, the erosion occurred due to faulty river bank protection work during the construction of the Dam in 2016. Dumping of sandbags in the areas was not done as per the rules.
Again, some complain that this situation has been created due to unplanned extraction of hundreds of trucks of sand in the area every day.
After inspecting the dam erosion area, the officials of the Water Development Board said that the erosion has started due to the change in the course of the river on the other side of the river. The course of the river must be changed to prevent erosion. In order to change the trajectory, dredging should be done across the char area to change the trajectory. They said the dam was not likely to be damaged by the eruption.
Meanwhile, Pabna-4 MP Nuruzzaman Biswas visited the river erosion area along with officials of Pabna Water Development Board and UNO of Ishwardi. After the inspection, he directed the UNO of Ishwardi and the executive engineer of Pabna Water Development Board to take necessary steps to prevent river erosion. While inspecting the river erosion area, Ishwardi Upazila Chairman Naib Ali Biswas, Municipal Mayor Ishaq Ali Malitha, Upazila Executive Officer PM ImrulKayes, Pabna Water Development Board Supervising Engineer Mohammad Saifullah, Executive Engineer RafiqulAlam Chowdhury, Upazila Vice Chairman Atia FerdousKakli, Sa. Emdadul Haque Rana Sardar and other officials of Water Development Board were present.