'Build dam, fulfill polls pledge'

On Tuesday, several thousand people brought out a procession and held a rally at Kachia Union Parishad office premises, where State Minister for Religious Affairs Mosharef Mossain Shajahan was the chief guest.

The rally was presided over by Shahabuddin Ahmed, Chairman of Kachia Union Parishad and addressed by local body leaders.

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The speakers said reconstruction of embankments was an election pledge of Prime Minister Khaleda Zia. She made the pledge at a public meeting in Bhola before the last parliamentary election, they claimed.

They said about one lakh people will be affected if the embankment in the two unions is not reconstructed before the monsoon starts in about two months from now.

They demanded dumping of RCC blocks immediately to check the erosion at different points.

During a visit to the affected areas on Thursday, it was seen that erosion has taken a serious turn in Gazippur, Kharki, Tolatoli and Murad Sobiullah areas in the two unions.

Abdul Ghanim 65, told this correspondent that the Meghna devoured about 200 acres of land with ready-for-harvest Boro paddy and made 100 families homeless in Khokri, Muradsofiullah and Gazipur villages in the last one week.

Another farmer, Abdur Rashid, 45, said about 10,000 cares of transplanted Amon lands have been damaged by tidal surge as there is no embankment.

The embankment collapsed last year.