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Published : 27 Apr 2013, 12:11 PM
Local farmers claimed the flood was caused as the mound of earth for protecting the Ganges-Kopotakkho Irrigation Project's canal collapsed at Char Bakhraba village due to the negligence of the authorities.
The Ganges-Kopotakkho is one of the largest irrigation projects in the country which was conceived in 1954 to facilitate 1,350,000 hectors of arable land in 13 upazilas of Magura, Jhenaidah, Kushtia and Chuadanga districts during the dry season.
Two farmers of the village, Sadrul Islam and Md Masud, said the southern embankment of the irrigation project’s main canal developed cracks a few days back and water was leaking through them.
The villagers claimed that they had informed local Water Development Board (WDB) field officer Mosharraf Hossain about the cracks developed in the canal’s embankment, but he did not pay any heed to them.
They said that over 50-feet of the embankment collapsed at around 8pm on Friday. The floodwaters inundated standing crops including Boro seedbeds, jute, sesame and summer vegetables cultivated over some 2,000 bighas of land in Char Bakhraba, Preatan Bakhraba and Goalbaria villages.
The floodwater was flowing towards Khandakbaria village on Saturday.
Sarutia Union Council Chairman Mahmud Hasan Mamun said that some 3,000 farmers lost their crops in the villages.
He claimed the flood was caused due to the negligence of duty by the local WDB officials.
Shailkupa Upazila Council Vice President Jahidunnabi Kalu visited the flood affected areas and told reporters that the farmers incurred a loss to the tune of Tk 20 million as their standing crops, particularly jute and summer vegetables, went under water.
WDB Executive Engineer of Jhenaidah district Abdul Latif termed the flood ‘an accident’.
The angry locals beat up and injured local WDB field officer Mosharraf Hossain. He has been hospitalised.
Latif said the collapsed part of the irrigation canal would be repaired within a couple of days.
[One bigha = 0.33 acre]
