Residents fear another major flooding as widening cracks threaten the 22 Polder, putting rice fields, vegetable farms, fish enclosures and homes at risk.
A major crack has appeared in an embankment along the Bhadra River in Kalinagar area of Deluti union in Paikgacha upazila of Khulna district, raising fears that the entire 22 Polder could be flooded and leaving local residents anxious and uncertain.
The crack became dangerously wide on the morning of September 18, creating fears of a repeat of the flooding of the entire 22 Polder. Local elected representatives and residents have called for urgent intervention by the Bangladesh Water Development Board (BWDB) and other senior authorities to prevent damage.
According to affected residents, severe riverbank erosion has occurred along about half a kilometre of the Bhadra River near the home of former Deluti Union Parishad chairman Samaresh Roy in Kalinagar. A small crack had appeared in the main embankment several days earlier, but by the morning it had become significantly wider and dangerous.
Hundreds of families have been losing everything every year to the relentless erosion of the fast-flowing Bhadra River. Residents affected by the long-running erosion expressed anger and frustration over the lack of lasting and effective measures to address the problem.
After inspecting the site, Palash Kanti Roy, a member of Ward 6 of Deluti Union, expressed concern.
“After receiving the news, I inspected the erosion-affected embankment area in the morning with local residents. The way the crack is widening, if immediate action is not taken, the entire 22 Polder will face severe flooding like in August 2024,” he said.
He added with frustration that although the Water Development Board takes action, it is often delayed.
“This time, such a delay should not happen. Everyone is earnestly demanding that BWDB officials visit the site and take effective measures immediately,” he said.
Deluti Union Parishad Chairman Ripon Kumar Mondal said the 22 Polder is synonymous with an “agricultural revolution” in the area.
“If the embankment breaks and saline water enters, the transplanted Aman rice, off-season watermelon, various vegetable fields and numerous fish farms will be completely washed away,” he said.
He further said that on August 22, erosion had previously flooded 13 villages in the union, leaving around 15,000 people waterlogged and stranded.
He called on the administration to take meaningful measures to prevent a repeat of that tragedy.
Angry and frightened residents said: “We do not want relief, we want a sustainable embankment.”
They said that during the previous government, temporary ring embankments, or cosmetic measures such as placing geobags and relief sacks, had been used to conceal their underlying problems. They said they no longer wanted temporary measures or relief.
The residents of Deluti are demanding that the current government protect the lives, livelihoods and homesteads of thousands of people in the 22 Polder by constructing a permanent and sustainable embankment.
