A permanent embankment is beginning to rise along the coast of Raipur and Juidandi unions in Anwara, Chattogram. Residents hope it will hold back sea waves and storm surges and help farming, trade and transport.
The Bangladesh Water Development Board (BWDB) says 5.175 km of permanent embankment and bank protection is being built in eight packages at a cost of Tk 350 crore: 2.40 km in Juidandi for about Tk 150 crore under the navy's supervision, and 2.775 km in Raipur for about Tk 200 crore under the BWDB. In Raipur 1 km is finished and the rest is about 50 percent done; Juidandi is about 80 percent complete.
Anwara has about 48 km of embankment, of which about 4 km along the river and 2.73 km along the sea are still at risk. Every cyclone and surge season, breaches let saltwater ruin farmland and shrimp ponds. The new embankment, built of interlocking blocks, raised earth slopes and CC blocks, is expected to protect thousands of families.
Enamul Haque, additional secretary at the water resources ministry, who inspected the work recently, said he was satisfied with its quality and ordered it finished on time to full standard.
Raipur resident Jalal Uddin Anowari said coastal people want a lasting embankment and the area will be transformed if it is finished on time. Md Jahidul Alam of Chibatali Ghat said he no longer fears losing his home. Salauddin Jahed of Juidandi said the long-standing risk of erosion and flooding had eased.
BWDB sub-divisional engineer Borno Haque said the first kilometre in Raipur was finished ahead of schedule and the whole project is due by June 2027. The report is by Ajker Patrika's Karnaphuli (Chattogram) correspondent Md Imran Hossain.
Source: Ajker Patrika
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