Teesta devours part of Tuhin Dam in Dimla

Villagers erecting a bamboo groyne at East Chatani village to protect the right bank Teesta. PHOTO: STAR

Erosion has already washed away over 50 homesteads in the area, threatening the right embankment of the Teesta.

At least 20,000 people in nine villages in Dimla upazila are marooned in the area. The worst affected villages are Jharsingher-char, Char Baishpukur, East Gaja-bari, Char Karibari, Chatunama, Vendabari, East Chhatnai, Vasani and Tabu.

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To check the erosion, Water Development Board (WDB), with the help of local people, are raising bamboo groynes and have collected sandbags for dumping at vulnerable points of the dam as a temporary measure, its Executive Engineer Zahirul Islam told this correspondent yesterday.

Local people said the river is changing course in the area, which will ultimately make useless the Teesta Irrigation Project, the largest irrigation project in the country.

WDB officials said erosion by the river started early this year as the Teesta water level fluctuates off and on. It crossed the danger mark at least 10 times in the last 15 days, they said.

To check this, WDB is trying to divert the river water through two channels, they said.