MR Amin, Chittagong

A sustainable project of Water Development Board (WDB) to prevent coastal erosion in South Chittagong Anwara is starting soon.

Specially the sea coast and riverside areas of Juidandi in Anwara upazila and the sea coast of Rajpur union are at risk of erosion.

In this, the houses of several thousand families and hundreds of acres of crop fields in these areas are at risk of erosion. Apart from this, several institutions including street markets, schools, madrassas and mosques are under threat.

It is known that South Chittagong was devastated by the terrible cyclone and tidal wave of April 29, 1991. Thousands of acres of homesteads were destroyed and nearly half a million people lost their lives. Apart from this, hundreds of kilometers of roads, road bridges and culverts were destroyed, thousands of acres of cropland were lost in rivers and seas. After the cyclone, the Water Development Board at various times constructed hundreds of kilometers of embankment to protect the river and sea coast.

The Water Development Board has constructed extensive embankments along the river banks of Anwara, Upazila and constructed protective works and embankments at various times to protect the sea coast.

Due to the construction of sustainable embankments in the vast majority of sea and river areas, relief returns to millions of peopleSubsequently, the Water Development Board is starting work on the project to protect the remaining unprotected parts of Anwara at an early stage. Raipur coast protection 2775 km, Raipur 1200 km coast embankment and reconstruction. Jaindadi 1200 km slope conservation.

Estimated expenditure on Anwara section is Tk 364 crore 50 lakhs. In January 2021, the feasibility study of the sustainable water management project (first phase) began in Anwara and Banshkhali upazilas of South Chittagong. An eight-member survey committee of the Paubo highlighted the importance of the project and recommended construction of new permanent dams and renovation of old dams.

The DPP of the project was reconstituted in the PEC meeting held on February 7 this year.It is known that in line with the ongoing work of the Water Development Board, the then prime minister Sheikh Hasina approved the allocation of Tk 874 crore 57 lakh for the protection of the remaining unprotected parts of Banshkhali and Anwara upazilas on May 28 of the current year in the meeting of the Executive Committee of the National Economic Council (ECNEC). The work of the project will be done in Khankhanabad, Baharchhara, Chanua, Sadhanpur of Raipur of Banskhali and Juidandi Union. The project is scheduled to be completed in June 2027 starting in June this year.

It is learnt that the Water Development Board is in line with the ongoing work to protect the remaining unprotected part of the sea in Anwara Upazila.

When asked about this, Shaukat Ibn Saheed, Executive Engineer of Chittagong Water Development Board Division 1 said, we In line with ongoing work, new projects have been formulated to prevent erosion of river-sea coasts and banks and inland canals (including parts of Raipur and Zuidandi in Anwara). The work of the project undertaken to protect the rivers and rivers of Anwara upazila is starting very fast.

The package number of the new dam construction project in Anwara is 8, 4 tenders are being evaluated this month. The rest will also be evaluated gradually. He also said that dam construction is done in dry or winter seasonDue to natural calamities during the rainy season, it is not possible to build dams on the coast. During the dry season, dam construction or renovation work can be done for six to seven months.

When asked whether there is any complication in getting the money for the project, he said that some money will be available this year. We hope to finish the project within the time frame. We are trying to start the work soon. Different parts of the beach can be seen on the surface, the width of the beach can be seen by the pull of the tide in the sea.

However, the width of the beach decreases slightly during the monsoon season. In some areas, the stone blocks protecting the embankment have enhanced the beauty of the long beach. After the construction of embankment along the river, the roads were improved and the industrial and commercial activities expanded.