Earth lifting from Ichhamoti causes erosion in Sirajganj
Dwelling houses, lands and installations threatened
The dredger that was used to lift earth from Ichhamoti River at Kuthirchar village in Kamarkhanda upazila in Sirajganj district, left, portion of Sirajganj-Bogra road affected by erosion caused by the unplanned mud-lifting.Photo: STAR
Hundreds of dwelling houses, about 1.5 km stretch of important Sirajganj-Bogra road, a large area of cultivable lands and several installations are now threatened by erosion due to sand and earth lifting from Ichhamoti riverbed at Kuthirchar Sengati in Kamarkhanda upazila of Sirajganj district. Contractor Abdul Motaleb, owner of a construction firm, with the assistance of dredger machine owner Abdul Alim lifted sand from the riverbed and supplied sand and earth to the site of ACI Food Ltd for one and a half years by 'managing' permission from unscrupulous officials. The sand and earth lifting continued until recently, posing threat for the environment and massive erosion in the area, Water Development Board officials said. About 200 dwelling houses in eight villages, a portion of Sirajganj-Bogra road near Kuthirchar village, a large area of cultivable lands and a few installations were damaged during the last rainy season while several others have become vulnerable due to the unplanned dredging in the river. Nalka Bridge on Dhaka-North Bengal highway, Bazaar Bhadraghat and Bhadraghat primary and high schools may not be able to stand the erosion in the next rainy season, WDB sources said. Locals said they earlier submitted petitions to the authorities concerned for not permitting such massive digging in the riverbed to protect the urban area, but to no effect. Several affected villagers in November last year lodged a case with Sirajganj District and Sessions Judge's Court accusing nine persons including Sirajganj deputy commissioner, upazila nirbahi officers of Kamarkhanda and Raiganj, assistant commissioners (Land) of the two upazilas, manager of ACI Food Ltd, construction firm owner Abdul Motaleb and dredger owner Abdul Alim. During a recent visit to the area, this correspondent saw that another dredger was installed in the river near Kuthirchar Sengati while another firm was making preparations for lifting sand and earth. Landowner Fazal Huq, a resident of Kuthirchar village said the erosion caused by the lifting of earth and sand has already devoured a large area of croplands and many homesteads on the river basin. Faced with erosion, Shahena Khatun, 55, wife of Tara Shaikh of Bazaar Bhadraghat, shifted her homestead a few days ago. Many others including Nur Hossain, Haider Ali and Abdur Rezzak shifted their homesteads to safer places due to unexpected erosion in last year. Abu Rawshan, executive engineer of Roads and Highways Department in Sirajganj, told The Daily Star that, about one and half kilometre of Sirajganj-Bogra Hhighway near Kuthirchar village got badly damaged during the rainy season in last year and it may collapse in the coming rainy season. Terming unplanned sand lifting responsible for the situation, he said records say that the area did not see such erosion in last fifty years. If sand and earth collection is not stopped completely, many installations including the adjoining road and bridges will be affected, he said. He also sent letter to the ACI Food Ltd for stopping sand and earth lifting. Locals urged the higher authorities to take initiatives against the officials who gave 'illegal approval' to lift sand and earth from the riverbed. When contacted, Sirajganj Deputy Commissioner (DC) Ibrahim Khalil said he asked the ADC (Revenue) a few days ago to see the matter and take necessary steps in this regard. The DC, however, could not say what has been practically done in this regard.
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