Army called in to fix collapsed river protection dam in Sirajganj

A team from the army engineering unit has been deployed to help repair the Jamuna river embankment damaged by the rising water level in Sirajganj.

Executive Engineer of the Bangladesh Water Development Board or BWDB, Syed Hasan Imam, said, "Major 'Sayeed' from the engineering unit of the army camp located near the Bangabandhu Bridge was leading the repair work."

"Efforts by a joint team of the BWDB and the army are under way to fix the broken part which is about 20 meters in length," he added.   

Cracks started to develop on the dam around 8:30pm Thursday, and the flood water started to inundate the Bahuka neighbourhood in the Ratankandi Union. It triggered panic among the residents forcing them to leave the neighbourhood.

The repair work was started the same night, Imam said.

The workers were seen dumping sandbags at the spot on Friday morning. The repair work might be completed by the day, said engineer Imam.

“Water started flowing through a rat’s hole first,” he told bdnews24.com adding “Volunteers from the water development board contractors went there to fix it, but the owner of the house did not let them in to do so. So the hole started getting bigger.”

Construction of the 1,740-meter-long dam started in May this year.

Water from the Jamuna River has inundated some neighbourhood including Bahuka, Italy, Simla, Balighugri, Chilgachha, Bhewamara, Gojaria and Paanchthakuri.

Many residents have already been shifted to safety.

Former MP from Sirajganj seat-1 Tanvir Shakil Joy, Sirajganj Deputy Commissioner Kamrun Nahar Siddiqa and other top officials of the BWDB have already visited the area.

Minister for Health and Family Welfare Mohammed Nasim has called on the residents to keep calm.