& çâÌæÚUæð´ ·¤è ¥ôÚU Îð¹Ùæ ÁæÚUè ÚU¹ð´ ¥ÍæüÌ ¥ÂÙð ÜÿØ ÂÚU ŠØæÙ ÚU¹ð´Ð ãæÚU Ù ×æÙð´, €UØô´ç·¤ ·¤æ× ·¤ÚUÙð âð ¥æÂ·¤ô ©gðàØ ·¤è Âýæç# ãôÌè ãñ ¥õÚU ÁèßÙ ·¤æ ¹æÜèÂÙ ÎêÚU ãôÌæ ãñÐ ÖÜð ãè ÁèßÙ ×ð´ ç·¤ÌÙè Öè ·¤çÆÙæ§ü €UØô´ Ù ¥æ°, çÁ™ææâæ ¥õÚU ©ˆâæã ÕÙæ° ÚU¹ð´Ð ŠØæÙ ÚU¹ð´, ÜÿØ ã×ðàææ ¥æÂ·Ô¤ Âæâ ãôÌð ãñ´ çÁ‹ãð´ ÂæÙð ·Ô¤ çÜ° ÂýØæâ ¥æÂ ·¤Öè Öè àæéM¤ ·¤ÚU â·¤Ìð ãñ´Ð

Ctg city embankment in bad state

Coastal residents living in danger, industrial setups at risk of damage; influential people grab embankment

MINHAJ UDDIN, Ctg
The embankment built to protect Chittagong city from storm and tidal surges from the Bay of Bengal is itself in a vulnerable condition, thanks to massive illegal occupation, plundering of embankment trees, and lack of vigilance of the authorities.
This has left the lives of thousands of residents in the city's coastal areas- Patenga, Halishahar and Kattali-at stake.
Besides, industrial settlements, including the Oil Refinery, Chittagong EPZ, Karnaphuli EPZ, Shah Amanat International Airport, and numerous other private establishments would suffer irreparable damage if the dyke collapses. According to the Water Development Board (WDB), the 21.7 kilometres long embankment on the city's west is protecting Patenga, Halishahar, Kattali and some parts ofSitakunda upazila.
Built between 1965 and 1970 with mud, the structure was massively damaged during cyclones and tidal surges in 1970, 1985, 1988 and 1991. The WDB rehabilitated the embankment from 1992 to 1996.
During the rehabilitation, a 1.4km stretch of it was protected by a seawall and 4.2km by stones, as those parts are routinely lashed by strong waves. The remaining portion is still earthen.
For the repair work, the 14 feet wide embankment became 8.5 to 8.7 metres high from the sea level.
On a recent visit, this correspondent spotted more than 10 areas where the dyke has subsided or eroded into the sea and water is overflowing the embankment.
Of them, 150 metres in Charpara, 190 in Jele Para and 315 in Khejur Tola have suffered the worst of damage due to the felling of trees.
The roots of trees help to hold the soil together, which in turn keeps coastal embankments firm, say experts.
With the ravages of the 1991 cyclone still fresh in their minds and monsoon approaching, locals fear that this time the embankment may not withhold the onrush of the tidal flows.
Md Kamruzzaman, superintendent engineer of the WDB (Chittagong circle), said an emergency repair work worth Tk 31 lakh was done in the three damaged areas with sand bags in 2013.
This year the WDB has allocated Tk 1.2 crore for renovation using sand bags just to shore up the most damaged portions of it for this monsoon, he told The Daily Star.
He added that a Tk 25 crore project proposal for permanent repair of the three areas would be sent to the Ministry of Water Resources within days.
While visiting the area, this correspondent found that more than 3,000 illegal tin-roof structures for shops and houses were built by local influential quarters by plundering trees and occupying the embankment land stretching around seven kilometres from Patenga Sea Beach area to Halishahar.
Apart from these, around one kilometre area of the embankment in Kattali has been occupied illegally in the same way.
WDB official Kamruzzaman said they were preparing a list to evict the illegal occupants and would take action with the help of the district administration soon. Due to staff crisis, they cannot oversee the area currently, he added.
Formerly, 13 "khalasis" (guards) would look after the embankment but the post was abolished around a decade ago, he said.
Now the embankment remains without any supervision, exposing it to land grabbers, which may lead to its gradual breakdown.