Because no embankment has been built on the Maharshi river in Jhenaigati, Sherpur, the river has become a death trap rather than a blessing for local people. Without dredging it has lost its navigability, and illegal houses built on chars that have risen in the riverbed have turned the once fast-flowing river into something close to a canal.

The Maharshi comes down from India's Meghalaya state and flows past Jhenaigati upazila sadar. Years without dredging and illegal structures in the riverbed have made it narrower by the day, so in the rainy season flash flood water from the hills cannot drain quickly, causing waterlogging and flooding in surrounding areas.

Locals say that without a permanent embankment several villages and important educational institutions are under threat. Rameshkura Purbapara, Dighirpar village, Dighirpar Fazil Madrasa and several nearby areas could be swallowed by the river at any time.

As every year, flash floods on 13 May and again on 13 June caused erosion at various points along the Maharshi. In the second flood the embankment broke in at least four places, including Rameshkura Purbapara, Khoilkura and Dighirpar. In Dighirpar three houses collapsed, leaving a deep pit, and several more homes are at risk of river erosion.

Local farmer Bin Yamin said: "A few years ago a flood suddenly came in the middle of the night, broke the river's temporary embankment and washed away my poultry farm, soil and all. Goods worth about Tk 30 lakh were swept away before my eyes."

Local resident Md Faruk Ahmed said: "Nearly two decades have passed on assurances and promises. We no longer want assurances; we want dredging, eviction of illegal structures and a permanent embankment actually built."

Mokshedur Rahman Makku, president of the Jhenaigati Traders' Association, said: "Every year flash floods break the riverbanks and cause extensive damage in the upazila sadar and other areas. A permanent embankment is now the need of the hour."

Local BNP leader and former upazila parishad chairman Aminul Islam Badsha said: "There is no alternative to a permanent embankment on the Maharshi river to protect the people of the upazila."

Mahmudul Haque Rubel, member of parliament for Sherpur-3, said: "I have raised the Maharshi embankment in the national parliament. About 90 per cent of the procedural work on the project is done. Once the rest is complete, the project will go to tender. I hope embankment construction can begin in the current financial year."

Source: Jagonews24. First published in Bengali on The Agro News.