A 40-meter stretch of the Sirajganj town protection embankment at Goyla area in the town collapsed on Friday morning, creating panic among city dwellers. The embankment collapse, due to a furious erosion by the river Jamuna, has put the Sirajganj town and also the guide embankment on the west side of the Bangabandhu Multipurpose Bridge at risk. Sources said a good number of concrete blocks and earthen filling of the main embankment structure was swallowed by the river, which was discovered at 6:00am yesterday. On information, officials of the Bangladesh Water Development Board (BWDB) and district administration rushed to the spot. They ordered immediate measures to prevent the erosion.
While visiting the spot, our correspondent found BWDB workers placing sand-filled sacks with GEO textiles and concrete blocks at the damaged area to protect the remaining embankment from erosion. Rafiqul Islam, the executive engineer of BWDB, special division (BRE-O&M) told The Independent that the situation was brought under control in the afternoon. A bathometric survey was also being conducted along the hard points of the embankment to identify any other vulnerable sections, he added. The Sirajganj town protection embankment experienced two more breaches at the hard points last year.
-With The Independent input
