The Army engineers are expected to start repairing the breaches in the Gumti embankment at Ebtarpur in Comilla this week, official sources said.

Necessary orders regarding the repair work would be issued today, the sources informed.

A new alignment of the embankment would be raised to bypass the breaches for which Tk 33 lakh would be required, they said.

Water gushing out through the breach in the mid-night of July12 flooded at least 70 villages in the area. It affected thousands of people washing away their straw huts, livestocks and standing crops and threatened the prospect of the Aman crops.

The Gumti water wiped out a total of 800 feet of the embankment in two places. Meanwhile, poor construction work and negligence have been blamed for the breach.

The one-member probe committee headed by Dr Monowar Hossain, a professor of the Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology yesterday submitted his report to the Secretary of the Ministry of Flood Control and Water Resources. Details of the report were not available.

Sources said that action is likely to be taken against the people responsible for the collapse of the embankment where a repair work was done recently. Residents in the area had complained about the quality of the repair work.

A committee headed by Prof Shafiullah of the Civil Engineering .department of the BUET designed plans for the repair work and the job has been given to the Army engineers.

Gushing water had so far prevented the repair work as the Gumti continued to remain flowing high. But it came down recently from its danger level.